Eternally in Love
by parodized
Summary: Put a wild dragon slayer and a diva stellar mage together and what do you get? A perfect love story for a not-so-perfect couple. A NaLu anthology.
1. 002: Cherry Blossoms

Mainstream Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It sucks, I know.

It's been a long time since I've published any stories. So here goes. Enjoy!

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002: Cherry Blossom

**Romantically Literate.**

Hanami.

It was that time of the year again. And Lucy, determined to attend this year's party, swore to herself that she will _not_ be sick.

Too bad things don't go the way she wanted them to be.

Lucy sneezed and sniffed, holding her comforter near her chest to maximize the heat. Was this what they called divine intervention? Yet again, if this was what they called that, then Fairy Tail must be the Big Bang. Nothing would be crazier than her lovable guild.

Looking up at the clock, it read 4:15. Fairy Tail must be gathering at the usual spot for the Hanami Festival. Lucy looked out of the window and studied the view, it was almost twilight. The sky was painted a light fiery orange as the dark purple clouds swept by. Sitting by the river, she saw two men drinking, obviously celebrating the holiday despite not being around a cherry blossom tree. Children were playing on the street, chasing and hiding from each other.

She sighed. She wanted to go _so_ bad.

Suppressing a groan, Lucy turned over to her right and covered herself with the comforter. She sighed and went to sleep after getting the most comfortable spot she wanted.

**. . .**

The venue has already been set up even before Natsu arrived. With Happy on his back, the fire mage went towards the direction of his teammates –excluding Lucy. Natsu sighed, this was her second year in Fairy Tail yet she hasn't even been to one Hanami festival with him.

"Damn cold." He complained. Natsu kicked the stray pebble in front of him, luckily landing on Gray's face.

"What the fuck, Fire Brain?!" Gray snapped at him. "D'you want a fight, huh!?" Natsu passed by Gray, ignoring his attempts to pick up a fight and sat at the shaded part under the tree. His three friends noticed his uncharacteristically forlorn expression and asked, "It's Lucy, isn't it?"

The fire mage nodded, "It's always like this. Just like last time."

Gray and Erza both gave him a concerned look before lightening up.

"How about you bring the tree again to her house?" Erza suggested with a snap of her fingers. Natsu vehemently shook his head. "No." Erza shot him an eyebrow.

"We got caught during that time." Natsu explained. Erza suppressed a laugh, remembering the looks Natsu and Happy had on their faces when their master had caught them.

"Bring some sakura to her?" Gray asked. Erza shot him a glare.

"This is an important event. No one –and I mean no one –will take home a sakura blossom, even if it was for Lucy." Erza said, contradicting her own suggestion a while ago. Gray looked down dejectedly. Happy saw the two and decided to suggest his own. He was just about to open his mouth when Erza said,

"And no fish." pointing towards Happy for additional emphasis. The three now gathered at the base of the tree, all huddled up and animatedly crying. Erza sighed a long and stressed sigh and massaged her temples, how did she manage to put up with the idiocy of these three again?

Out of the three crying figures, Natsu was the first one to snap out of it due to the sudden idea that hit his surprisingly existent mind. Knowing what to do now,  
the fire mage sprang up on his feet and immediately looked for the blue-haired script mage that was Lucy's best friend, Levy.

**. . .**

A slight but noticeable noise woke up the spirit mage from her slumber. Groggily sitting up, she scratched her eyes then scanned the room for whatever disturbances that may have occurred to wake her up. Lucy saw nothing. Convincing herself that the noise was never present and that it was just her body clock working, Lucy lied down on her bed again and went back to sleep. Luckily for her, she failed to notice the shadowy figure that was holding its breath behind her kitchen walls. Once Natsu was sure that his partner was asleep, he tiptoed his way to the window and climbed out. As he landed, the fire mage stared at the window for a while, making sure he hasn't woke her up, and ran towards his home.

**. . .**

Lucy woke up the moment the morning rays hit her. Rolling over to her right, she was surprised to hear a crunching sound somewhere below her stomach. Curious of what it may be, she lifted the covers and picked up an average sized crumpled piece of paper that was hiding in her sheets. The stellar mage laughed, knowing all too well the owner of the handwriting on the paper.

"Natsu, you idiot." she murmured.

_It was unbelievably cold. My body is technically on fire but I can't help but feel a certain kind of coldness settling in the pit of my stomach. I begrudgingly asked Gray (who was the nearest to me at that time) about this foreign feeling, which he replied, "I don't know" in return. Too much for being a living snowman if he didn't even know the feeling of coldness. Mira seemed to have noticed my weird expression and asked me what was wrong in which I said, "I feel cold". She laughed, obviously knowing the meaning behind my words (even though I was only cold). She told me that it was because of you not being here for the Hanami for the second time of the year and that I was missing you here. I let those underlying messages of her slip my mind, but I did accept the fact that it is a bit different without your presence. I felt sad, because I knew that you were excited for the Hanami. So I decided to bring the festival again to you –don't worry, I learned my lesson last time. So here I am, letting you experience the festival through the best way I can think of –through writing._

_The afternoon sky has now left us leaving the twilight sky to continue its job. There were a few minutes left before the Rainbow Sakura Tree finally glows into a myriad of colors. I looked around, watching everything happening around me so that I can properly retell to you the events that have transpired. As the town clock struck six, all the villagers gathered more closely to watch. The passers-by, children and visitors have stopped in time to marvel in the beauty of the tree as each of its leaves began to glow. There was a moment of immaculate silence as everyone has their breath held as if a single sound might destroy the moment. The tree stood majestically in the middle of the park, showing everyone the beauty of nature and that even in the middle of a well urbanized population, the beauty of nature can still shine. A few more minutes passed as the tree's branches swayed according to the way of the wind._

_By now I'm pretty sure that you're wondering how I managed to have this kind of vocabulary. But before you think of any other stuff, I would just like to tell you that Levy helped me. I just told her what I want to say and she did all the stressful writing. But all of these really came from me! The thoughts, the ideas … everything! Levy just helped me with those beautiful and deep words that you always use. =)_

_- Natsu_

Lucy's smile can be seen stretching all the way to her ears after she had finished reading the letter. _Natsu, you idiot. _she mused. Who would have thought that this guy has some 'romance' in him? The blonde always saw Natsu as the rowdy boy who always gets into a fight. Directly experiencing this side of him, it made her happy. The efforts that the fire mage has put in, from 'begrudgingly' asking Gray to asking Levy for help, made Lucy happy.

The spirit mage kicked herself out of bed and continued on with her daily routine, the contents of the letter perfectly etched into her mind. After this, when she reaches her guild, she needed to treat Natsu out for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

After all, every effort must be rewarded.

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How was it? Review, okay?


	2. 003: Story

Mainstream Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It sucks, I know.

Thank you for those who reviewed and liked the story! I promise I'll do my best in making more Natsu/Lucy oneshots. Who knows? I might make a long one.

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003 – Story

**Long Story Short.**

"And that is how the lion fell in love with the lamb." Lucy said, finally closing the book. She glanced at the sleeping figure beside her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Goodnight sweetheart."

Dusting off the invisible dust on her skirt, Lucy stood up, picked up the book, placed her free hand on her hip and gave the book a menacing glare. "Sorry Alzack, but who the hell in their right mind would buy such a book, much less make it a story book?" she said. Looking back once more on the angel sleeping on the bed, the stellar mage turned off the night light and headed downstairs.

"…no need?" Lucy's ears perked at the sound of Alzack's voice .

"We're family right?" She heard her partner, Natsu, speak. "We may not be like Bisca and Asuka, but we still treat each other the same way. So keep the jewels, we just took care of your daughter." Alzack sighed a stressed sigh. Apparently, nothing will move Natsu if he has already made up his mind; though three days of full babysitting must be stressful. Alzack knew that since he's the father. Asuka may be sweet and cuddly on the outside, but she's just like your regular tantrum-filled child –and since she's from Fairy Tail, it made taking care of her more like a mission.

"Fine." Alzack surrendered, putting back the money in his pocket. "But Asuka's –"

"Like I said" Natsu interrupted, "Family." A small chuckle escaped from the male ex-quip mage as he watched Natsu stand up. Turning around, he saw Lucy standing on the stairs and gave her his trademark smile. "It's about time you put her to sleep." He laughed. "I couldn't stand listening to the story."

Bisca stepped out of the kitchen holding a bag in her hands. Seeing that Lucy's nearer, she handed them to her, ignoring the shy protests that the stellar mage was making.

"You haven't had dinner yet right?" Bisca pressed the bag into Lucy's hand. The blonde lowered her head shyly –she had no choice but to accept, especially since Bisca's now a few years older than her.

**. . .**

Natsu and Lucy bid the happy family farewell and started walking along the now empty streets of Magnolia. Natsu spoke up first.

"So" he started, "Tell me about your time with Asuka." Lucy laughed.

"She was _so _energetic. Well, to be fair. I was like that too when I was young." she laughed.

A soft silence fell between the two. It wasn't like those awkward silences that makes you sweat and gulp like there's no tomorrow. They were just there, walking side by side, Lucy on the river's ledge and Natsu on the pavement. Happy was nowhere to be seen during that time as he was at Wendy's apartment at Fairy Hills. Alzack and Bisca told them that Asuka has a thing for toys with tails and Happy, being a creature with tails that gets scared easily, hid behind Lucy's back saying that he's not coming over.

The silence was broken when Natsu laughed. "Remember that time when you fell in the river?" Lucy glared at him and laughed. "You pushed me"

"I nudged you."

"Hard."

"You have a weak body."

"It's not my fault I'm petite and beautiful."

Natsu opened his mouth for a retort but closed it. He laughed shyly while his right hand scratched the back of his head. "Hehe, I guess so."

Lucy smiled at her partner. How many times did she tell herself that she loves this nutshell? She lost count. Apparently, the same thing went to Natsu.

"Natsu." she called.

The fire mage looked up at Lucy only to see her smile at him. He inwardly sighed. He can't get enough of those smiles.

"What?" He watched Lucy hop down from the ledge and walked to his side, slipping her hands in his.

"Tell me a story."

"About?" He asked.

"How you realized that you liked me." Lucy answered, swinging their hands back and forth. Natsu looked up to the sky, deep in thought. Then he looked at her and shrugged.

"I dunno." he told her.

"Huh?"

"I dunno." Natsu repeated. "I just woke up one day knowing that I like you." he turned to her. "Do I need a reason why I liked you? Doesn't that some natural? Well, that's what Igneel told me."

Lucy giggled. Leave it to the almighty dragon to teach Natsu the cheesiest answers. "Ask me then."

Natsu looked at her as if she grew two more heads. "No." The spirit mage's face fell, no?

"No?"

"I know that story already Lucy. I can actually tell it to you word by word." Lucy raised her eyebrow.

"Really now?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"Yeah!"

"Well, how?" Natsu laughed. Lucy is actually making him tell her how. He mentally added to his to-do list to make this story into a novel so that every time she asks about it he could just show her the book. But that would result into a quick break-up. Natsu quickly erased it in his list. He sighed.

"Long story short, you avoided me for the whole month because you said you were confused and because it's like the number one rule in the best friend rule book to not fall in love with your best friend. You ran away every time I come near you, leave every time I enter the guild –you actually locked your window! Then when I had no money left, I went on a solo mission for a week without telling you since you'd just walk away."

Lucy crossed her arms at how Natsu seemed to make her look like a bad guy in _her _story. Natsu noticed this and smiled.

"When you realized that I was away, you started to feel _so_ lonely that you actually came to my house and just sat on the doorstep for one day. That's when you realized that _you can't leave without me_-"

"I never said anything like that!" Lucy interrupted, her face red. Natsu just grinned at her.

"But you felt like it." Lucy opened her mouth to speak but Natsu beat her to it. "Anyway, before someone talks again, when I came back to the guild, you were the one to greet me. You punched me in the face and then hugged me. You actually said sorry that time –yes you did– and told me to never ever _ever_ go into a solo mission or else-" he coughed " –I'll beat you up into a bloody pulp and offer you to whatever beast there is out there." He glanced at Lucy's embarrassed face.

"Well… if you put it that way" Lucy tuck her hair behind her ear. "I guess I did miss you then."

Natsu gave her his usual toothy grin. "See?"

Lucy rolled her eyes.

How can her boyfriend be so annoyingly adorable?

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Did you like it? I think I did good with this one.

Please review! I'll die if I don't get enough reviews. :DD


	3. 031: Ice Cream

Mainstream Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and neither do any of you. It sucks, I know.

Anyway, here it is! Enjoy. It's a bit short though. But c'mon, it's a one shot. It's supposed to be short ... right?

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031: Ice Cream

**Pudding**

"That is _so_ unfair!" Lucy complained.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"NO."

"YES!"

"No–"

"You burned the ice cream!" Lucy pointed to the puddle of melted chocolate cream in Natsu's bowl.

"I did not!" Natsu retorted, slamming his hands on the table. "It melted!"

"How can in melt when you haven't even taken a bite?!" The blonde was silent in rage, Natsu was being childish. She wasted money for that treat.

"Lucy," the teen calmly seethed, "you're not doing very good for your blonde family." Lucy's eye twitched at Natsu's remark. Did he just make a very insulting blonde joke in front her?

"Hey—"

"Fine, I'm sorry." he quickly shut her off as he scooped a spoonful of ice cream. Natsu looked at Lucy and showed her what happened if he eats it. Even before the icy treat made contact with Natsu's mouth, it already melted, forming a small puddle on top of the table.

"That's what you get for making a FIRE dragon slayer eat ice cream."

"That's not what you did!" Lucy fought. "I felt the table heat up!" she hit the table a few times for emphasis. "You cheated!" she accused.

"Fine!" Natsu admitted, raising his hands in frustration. "I burned the freaking ice cream. I can't stand seeing anything that reminds me of that snow shorts."

"Why did you burn it?!" Lucy got the truth out of Natsu, but she wasn't going to let the burning slide. It was a waste of her money.

"You said the first one to _finish_ the ice cream wins." he reasoned in exasperation.

Lucy blinked at him. Was he stupid? Was Natsu Dragneel really that idiotic?

"Natsu…" Lucy calmly called his name, "What did you think we were supposed to do with the ice cream."

"Finish it, of course. That's what this game is all about." The fire mage answered. He crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair, where was Lucy going about this?

"Like…" She waved her right hand in a circular outward motion, prompting him to continue.

"Like how we finish off an enemy." Natsu answered proudly. The teen raised his hand and pointed his thumb to his chest, "That's not even half of what I can do. If I were serious, I would've evaporated the whole thing."

Lucy groaned and banged her head on the table.

"Lucy?"

"Just shut up and give me that pudding." she ordered. Natsu looked at her and shrugged, pushing the bowl to his teammate.

Finally, that little Gray devil was out of his hands.

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Forgive me, this one is a bit short compared to the other stories.

Anyway, REVIEW please! :D PLEAAAAAAASE.


	4. 034: Math

To be honest, I had to re-read the most basic information about asymptotes just so I could connect it to love to finish this one. Nerdy, huh?

For the sake of my story! TT^TT

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033: Math

**Asymptote**

It's hard when you're a self proclaimed stalker. It makes normal interaction seem alien. You wallow in that piteous fact that you can only watch her from afar, talk to her in your head, and think of her by your side. In other words, you're so in love that you want to go away and get crazy in the process.

That is what Natsu Dragneel is feeling right now.

The irony was clearly playing in his life. Lucy was his friend –best friend to be exact, and teammate and he's the one that she trusted the most. Yes, there's that sense of friends forever lingering in the air. So there he was, watching her from afar with soft eyes, careful not to be found out.

What was the term he heard Lucy use before? Atoe, amitoesy, assymote … Asymptote? Yeah, that's right. It was Asymptote, derived from the Greek word asumptotos, meaning 'not falling together'. Natsu did a little victory dance in his head for remembering something intellectual he'd seen in Lucy's book.

He found it geeky to use something so mathematical to describe his romantic status, but it was the most accurate description for him.

Lucy saw him stare at her. He smiled. She smiled back.

He was _so_ near yet _so_ far.

Lucy could pass by so many points but not in his line. Meaning, Lucy could date as many guys as she wants as long as the love equation's right, the points are infinite. Men are infinite. But she could never _ever_ go near his line.

Natsu immediately dubbed his place as the 'friend zone' line.

Lucy could go near him as close as possible, but not close enough. She would always get enclosed by his hugs, carried by his arms, warmed by his fire, but they could never be together. It was against the rules. No. It was a universal fact followed by all the geeky and not-so-geeky people in the world.

But sometimes there are mistakes in finding the solution to true love. Lucy may have been confused, making her line intersect with his –a short term relationship, perhaps? During that time, Natsu could have kissed her, hugged her more, made her happier than before since he had the right to do so. But Lucy was one intelligent girl. She knew better than to cross the asymptote, that's just wrong. A minus point. Just like a test, when you're wrong, you're most likely to feel sad. In her case –broken.

She would correct her mistakes, go back to square one and start from scratch again. Another set of points/men and hope that this was finally the answer to her love, leaving Natsu alone in the friend zone again. He would just stand there, not even bothering to fix that erased part of his line.

But looking in a different perspective, to others, he's a part of their solution. Maybe he should just … move on? Natsu refused. Math was an intellectual battlefield he can't go into, not with his kind of brain. But if he needed math just to prove how just correct he and Lucy are for each other, then he'd be more than willing to prove it, no matter how confusing and frustrating those theorems are. He'd just make up new ones. Like the theory of Love at First Sight, the Gradually Falling in Love Theorem or maybe the Soulmate Theory.

Who knew love could be so easy when mixed with Math?

Natsu prayed that no one heard him praise the numerical demons of the magic world.

But, then again, Math was just created by people right? The numbers, the symbols, they were all used to determine, to find the possibility. It was used to find the perfect solution in the equation.

But love was never perfect –and so were they.

He remembered from Igneel's past teachings that Math had the tendency to be uncertain. That's why they had probabilities, possibilities –they had luck and chance.

Natsu smiled.

He had a chance.

And damn it, he's going to make that chance the only answer to her equation.

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So? How did you like it? Kinda geeky, huh? Hahaha! Too bad, I liked it. :D

Anyway, Review ok? Thank you!


	5. 018: Rain

018: Rain

**Personal Heater**

It was undeniably cold. Lucy's insides were vibrating like hell and her teeth chattered so much that they could rival a beaver's.

Today was one of the days she hated rain.

The news said that a low pressure area was found 180 kilometers from the shore of the west part of Fiore. It hasn't even entered the country yet it's already terrorizing the country with its deluge rain. And to top it all off, this season's monsoon has picked up the incoming storm's winds multiplying its destruction level to over 9000.

Yes, she just hated the rain.

And no, she doesn't hate Juvia –just her element.

Lucy looked outside of her window and watched the water wonderland below. It was only a few days ago that the small river gave up and started to overflow, jeopardizing many of those who lived near it –including her. She silently thanked all the celestial gods out there who may have helped with her spur-of-the-moment decision to rent an apartment on the second floor.

The king of the Fiore had already announced a state of calamity for some parts of the country. Fortunately, Magnolia wasn't one of those cities built in those catch basin terrains –it would be embarrassing on her part to be seen on a makeshift boat going to Fairy Tail. Another gust of wind passed their street, making the waves on the flood much higher than before. A lot of families had already evacuated to higher ground since the flood's almost waist deep. Some of them are staying in Fairy Tail since it's the highest point in the city _and_ it's big enough to accommodate almost a hundred families.

Lucy was suddenly shaken out of her thoughts when the sky turned temporarily white followed by the loud roar of thunder.

"Damn rain." The spirit mage groaned and plopped herself to bed, dragging the comforter over her head. One thing she liked about the rain though was that it was a good lullaby. The not-so-soft pitter-patter of the rain on her window, mixed with the rushing water below and the whistling of the wind surprisingly sounded melodious to her ears.

The rain continued for who knows how long until Lucy fell asleep.

A knock on her window jolted her awake.

Nervous of what may have happened; Lucy sprang up from her bed, still groggy, and looked around to where the sound came from. Another knock came and Lucy turned her head to her window. It was dark. Her heartbeat sped up, what if the wind's carrying loose rooftops now? What if one tree got uprooted and was now heading this way to her house? Coincidentally, the lightning struck, temporarily shining over the mysterious figure waiting outside her window, giving Lucy enough time to make out the silhouette. Her eyes widened in realization as she was now pulling the lock to open it. After a few failed attempts due to the strong winds outside, Lucy knocked, calling the one outside to pull. When she did open it, the figure jumped inside and Lucy quickly closed the window, careful not to let any of the rain water into her house. Once she put the lock back in place, she turned around only to be greeted by-

"Natsu?" she asked. The young dragon slayer lit his hand on fire to shed some light in her room.

"Hiya Luce-"

"Why are you dry!?" Lucy asked in shock. Just a few moments ago, her teammate was just outside her window getting pelted by the rain. Now that he was inside, he looked like he hasn't rushed into the flood at all.

Was her window magically a blower?

Damn, she needed sleep. Her logic seemed to be deteriorating.

Shaking her head to make her sane, Lucy gawked at the young male before her, truly curious as to why every fiber of his being is not dripping wet right now.

"Well duh, I'm a _FIRE_ dragon slayer." Natsu said, knowing Lucy's confused expression all too well. He pointed his thumb to his chest and grinned, "I'm a steamer in the rain, er, flood."

Lucy dropped down to her bed, her mind still fuzzy to interpret what Natsu had just said since she just woke up. She cocked her head to the side, closed her eyes, dropped her head and pinched her nose. The spirit mage inhaled deeply and sighed. She raised her head to look at him.

"And exactly _how_ did you end up here, despite the deep flood?" Lucy waved her hand in a circular motion. She really needed to know. It can't be that Natsu's temperature is _so_ hot that he actually evaporated the water. No, that's just plain illogical bull.

"I maximized the heat of my body." Natsu answered coolly. "My body's _so_ hot that while I walked over to your place, all the water surrounding me began evaporating." he grinned, "I was on _fire."_

Lucy mentally slapped herself. Of course, how could she forget that Natsu's almighty majestic dragon flames can burn _anything_ –even water. Yes, logic supports that fact.

"Oh, so you're one fiery Moses now, aren't you?" Lucy said bitterly. Natsu showed her his trademark grin, a toothy smile that seems to split his face, and laughed.

"Maybe?" Lucy just rolled her eyes. After one whole turn, her eyes landed again on Natsu and sighed, shivering once more as the wind passed them by. Thanks to Natsu's keen hearing, he heard her short intake of air and noticed that her body was uncontrollably shivering. No, shaking. No.

She was a freaking living earthquake.

"Hey Luce-"

"Y-Yes. I'm c-cold, dumbass." she said through chattering teeth.

Natsu also noticed that Lucy was already wearing her coat, jacket, scarf and mittens. She was practically wearing snow clothes while trapped under a huge bundle of comforters.

"You really are cold." he mused.

"N-no, s-shit Sherlock." she glared at him and cursed his warm glory. "S-sorry f-for not being my own p-p-personal h-heater."

The sky turned white once more as the lighting struck followed by a louder thunder. The wind outside seemed to have picked up its pace as it was now trying to tear Lucy's window away from her wall. Lucy felt the coldness increase tenfold. She dropped her body into her bed again and curled, saving her body heat as much as possible. When she remembered that Natsu was still at her home, she craned her head to look at him and asked, "Why are you here?"

Natsu blinked. "Oh yeah, I remember now why I was here." Lucy raised her eyebrow.

"A lot of families are now in Fairy Tail, some of them come from here. " Natsu paused. Seeing as how Lucy said nothing, he continued. "Gray told me to come."

"And why?"

"One of the residents there told Erza that there had been a massive blackout, she was worried about you so ... yeah." he shrugged. Lucy's eyes widened.

Ah, so that's why she was shivering. She was too busy with being cold that she didn't notice the power shut down. No. She should have noticed it. During her sleep maybe? _No wonder I'm shivering to death. I've been heater-less for hours now_, she thought. She glanced at Natsu and noticed how he seemed closer that a while ago.

"Natsu?"

"You're cold aren't you?"

"How many time do I have to-"

"Scoot over" he interrupted. Lucy blinked, "Huh?" Before she could even process anything, she was pushed to the side as Natsu climbed into her bed.

"Natsu-"

"How many times have you said my name now?" The fire mage asked jokingly, "If you want to feel warm, then you're going to need me." He yanked the comforter off Lucy's back. When Lucy felt the heat leave her, she quickly pulled the comforter from Natsu's hands and put it back –only to be taken off by Natsu again.

"See?" he told her, "With me here, you wouldn't have to wear as twice as much. You're going to die of suffocation with all that clothes."

Needless to say, Lucy was speechless. Natsu Dragneel was on her bed, blatantly implying that they share body heat.

Her face flushed red.

And yet, even as Natsu took of her excess clothing and wrapped his arms around her, Lucy couldn't bring herself to punch him to next Wednesday. She was surprisingly okay with that thought. As a principled lady that grew up in a high class environment, she should have already pushed him off the bed and screamed sexual harassment. And yet there she was, lying on bed next to Natsu, her hand circling his neck while his arms around her waist. She was now only in her pajamas and only a comforter draped over them –still, she felt as if the heat was just from a normal night. Only a few minutes had passed but Lucy could already feel that Natsu was in deep sleep. She tucked her head under his chin and sighed happily.

Maybe the rain wasn't too bad after all.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey everyone, I'd like to thank every one of you for following the story. I really didn't expect that it'd get this much reviews. I was only expecting three reviews at most for each chapter. Anyway, I want to advertise my other story. I accidentally deleted it due to my stupidity but that's for another story.

If you have time, I'd like you people to read it. It's dramatically satisfying (not sad), so if you're into that kind of stuff, feel free to read it.

Anyway, review! :DD


	6. 042: Acceptance

042: Acceptance

**No Matter What You Are**

_I have no son!_

_I'm sorry!_

Natsu closed his eyes as he tried to push the haunting memory away. He didn't want it. He was different now. The boy looked outside of the shop window and waited for his friend to come, they were supposed to go to the theater to watch the latest movie. The bell rang as the door opened, but Natsu was too occupied with his thoughts to notice that his friend has already arrived.

A soft voice called him, bringing him back. "Hey beautiful." the voice joked. Natsu grunted in annoyance and turned around to meet his friend.

"Your late." he told her.

"I'm sorry. There was a car crash nearby." Lucy reasoned, "I was stuck in traffic."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Of course you were." the boy moved a little to the side so that his friend could sit in the booth. "What kind of excuse did you pull that one from?" Natsu's eyes landed on a father-son combo outside and fell silent. At least that boy had a good time with his father. The sound of a whip cracking the air suddenly entered his mind. He gripped his hands on the seat, away from Lucy's eyes as he forcefully tried to forget the memory.

Lucy realized that her friend suddenly became quiet. She looked over to his side and saw him staring outside the shop. She followed his gaze and saw a boy walking side-by-side with his father, laughing. She thought of what day it was today and her eyes softened at the teen in front of her.

"My condolences, Natsu." Her voice made him jump. He whipped his head to her and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"I just remembered what day it was today." Lucy let her head fall, "You father –he died seven years ago at this day." The girl pursed her lips and sighed. "I shouldn't have asked you to come with me, I'm sorry." Lucy pulled herself out from the booth when Natsu tugged her back. She landed on the cushioned seat with a thud.

"Don't be." he told her. "I was just … thinking about something." His hands unconsciously brushed the scar in his neck. This action didn't go unnoticed by Lucy as she quickly swatted his hand away and touched the white line on his neck. She just realized then that Natsu wasn't wearing his muffler.

"Is this why you're always wearing your muffler?" she asked him, "To hide this … scar?" Her voice dripped with worry. Natsu hummed in response.

"Why?"

"My father hit me with a pipe."

"He hit you on the neck!?" he heard her gasp. Lucy was still touching the scar so Natsu took her hand and lowered it. "Yeah."

"Why?"

Why?

Natsu thought if he should answer her or not. He didn't want her to feel disgusted about him, but being his friend, she should at least know as much as that. But was it worth the information? Some things are better off not knowing. His eyes landed on the father outside. He watched him as the middle-aged man laugh and carried the boy on his shoulders. He looked back at Lucy and found her still staring at him. She was expecting an answer. Should he?

He should.

Natsu took a deep breath, "My lips were red." The boy lowered his head and waited for the girl to respond.

Lucy stared at him with wide eyes. What did he just say? His lips were red? What did that mean? The young woman shook her head and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. She honestly didn't understand that. She was smart, but she was as dumb as Dumb and Dumber when Natsu told her that.

Natsu grew tense at Lucy's silence. Did she understand? He would hate it if she didn't, he didn't like talking in riddles but he was embarrassed, the topic was awkward for him. A few seconds passed and Lucy still hasn't answered. He cautiously looked at her and found her in a thinking position.

Lucy felt as if someone looking at her. She lifted her head a little and jumped when she saw Natsu stare at her with those dark onyx eyes. She laughed lightly and said, "Sorry, I just didn't get it."

So much for being smart.

Natsu dropped his head on the table and groaned. Great, so what riddle is he going to use now?

Lucy heard Natsu mumble a few words. She stretched her hearing abilities just to hear him but the words were too soft to understand. She felt like he didn't want to talk about his scar anymore but Lucy was curious. Their friendship might end today if she pressed on the topic but she was really curious about it. Natsu rarely hides stuff from her. He would tell her everything –secrets, stories, more secrets, and even Gray's embarrassing moments. They were best friends. So not telling her something like this might be might have made a negative impact on his life.

Call her selfish, but she was just concerned.

"Natsu?" she poked the young man's arms. The said boy turned to look at her and grumbled a few words.

"Sorry?" she didn't catch that.

"I said –" She still didn't catch it.

"Natsu, if you're going to tell me something, then just say it. I'm all ears."

Natsu sucked in a breath, "I grew up a girl, okay?" he finally said it.

Lucy was taken aback by Natsu's confession. Lucy cocked her head and studied him; he looked as much as a boy should be. She looked at his face, it wasn't girly. A disease? Maybe Natsu was born with a deleted chromosome? She shook her head, weren't those kinds of chromosomal aberrations accompanied by low IQs? She looked at Natsu and dismissed the thought, he was an idiot but he was nowhere near that level. There was one more possibility, Lucy's eyes widened and coughed.

"Oh" That was all she managed to say. Lucy pulled Natsu from the collar and pulled his face up close. She studied his features again, from his forehead to his lips. She couldn't find it. She dropped his collar and sat, her arms crossed.

"What made you change?" she asked him. Natsu was surprised to hear her question. She wasn't going to run away? She wasn't going to leave him?

He has never been so happy to have a friend like her.

Lucy waited for Natsu to answer. She accepted him as Natsu, regardless of his preference –past or present. He would always be that little idiot to her. It was a surprise though –to know that the man she liked was, well, that. But it was all in the past.

"Guilt I guess." he answered. Guilt? Guilt about? The girl furrowed her brows in confusion –what?

She heard Natsu laugh, "You make weird faces, you know that Luce?" He raised his left hand and poked her cheek. Lucy swatted his hands away jokingly and covered her cheek. She could feel her face heat up. She suddenly saw Natsu as a different person. He wasn't just an idiot anymore –he was an idiot that had a bad life. In some way, they were the same. She was misunderstood too. Her father wouldn't let her go out, have fun –he took all her freedom away. He was afraid of the trouble that she would cause. She was misunderstood because she was judged. Natsu was misunderstood because he wasn't accepted for who he was. If she looked it that way, they both had horrible fathers. Maybe that's why they grew so close. But something disturbed Lucy.

Did he choose to become a man because of guilt?

"Guilt how?" she asked. How can he be guilty of his choice?

"I was a disappointment to him," he answered, gripping the edge of his seat once more. "He told me he has no son. I told him I was sorry that I would stop, but I couldn't stop it –I was young." Natsu raised his head and watched the ceiling fan turn.

"Seven years ago, he called me to his bed. He was very sick –dying." He paused, this memory was too heavy for him.

"He apologized. He told me that instead of pushing me away, he should have spent his time with me as a normal father."

_No matter what you are._ He remembered the words.

Lucy looked at the boy beside her.

She suddenly found herself falling for him more.

"You know what Natsu?" she grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze, "You'll always be you in my eyes –no matter what you are." She kissed him in the cheek for encouragement. Natsu tensed as he felt Lucy's lips come in contact with his cheek. What? He inwardly frowned when he felt her soft lips leave his cheek. He kinda liked it.

Lucy smiled when she saw the confused frown on his face. The boy never stopped being so adorable.

"So –that movie?" she pointed to the clock near the counter. "It's about to start. The theater is just across the street, are we still going?" Natsu nodded silently, still dazed about what happened.

"Okay, I'll go first." she told him, "I'll buy the tickets, and you pay whatever we ate here."

"But we didn't even—"

"Exactly." Lucy winked at him, took her bag and waved goodbye, leaving Natsu alone to pay a meal that wasn't even there.

The boy watched his best friend as she walked out of the shop. He turned back to his sit and chuckled.

_Girls_.

He thought about how Lucy made an impact in his life. It was only two years ago when they first met. He saw her walking around the busy parts of the city looking for a job. Unfortunately for her, she was tricked by some human trafficking madman named whatever –he forgot the bastard's name. It was an accident actually, their meeting. After kicking the man's ass, he found out that Lucy was looking for their company to work in. And he just so happened to be one of its core members.

After that faithful encounter, his life seemed to had more color than before. Before, it was only the color of furious scary scarlet and annoying ass-butt black. But the yellow just made his life more colorful. And he had to admit, it went perfectly with pink.

He remembered when Mira came to him and asked if he liked Lucy, did he? Of course, he had told her. She was his best friend, obviously he likes her. He still remembered the throbbing pain on the back of his head when Mira hit him for being _dense._ Yes, he agreed. He was dense during that time. Thanks to Mira's painful hit to the head, Natsu suddenly found himself noticing Lucy's actions when she was around him. Her actions _were_ grounds for holding romantic feelings.

But then again, he _was_ dense.

But did he like her –maybe? After what happened today, after she accepted him for whom he was, for being Natsu, something must have changed. He suddenly found himself wishing that he would have been a man all this time, not just now.

_No matter what you are_. He just realized now that Lucy said same thing his father told him.

Lucy was the only one who knew this about him. And if he was able to tell her something that he held too close to his heart, maybe it's time that he completely let her into his world.

_Okay, I do like her. _He confessed to himself.

He, Natsu Dragneel, was starting to see Lucy Heartphilia as a woman –the _opposite_ sex.

And if he was lucky, maybe he'd fall for her faster than he thought.

* * *

(Dodges tomatoes, cabbages and slimy spoiled food)

SORRY! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

Okay, before you charge at me with those pointy pitchforks and _very_ hot flames, I just want to say on my defense that I tried my best not to make the story like that. But it was hard, okay? It was counter-productive, I know. BUT I REALLY NEEDED TO GET IT OUT OF MY SYSTEM. I hated the thought as much as you do (do you?), but I found it really cute and endearing that Lucy was so open to Natsu's former homosexuality. But hey, the ending made up for it.

I swear that this will be the first and the last time that I will write something like this.

Damn that song and its meaningful lyrics and heavy LSS powers!


	7. 040: Jealous

040: Jealous

**Gray's Amusement**

Gray wished that he could control his barfing voluntarily. He really needed it right now.

The ice mage frowned at the pathetic scene before him and sighed. Oh, why did he agree on coming along? Erza refused, why couldn't he? Right, the flame brain insulted him. Gray shifted his glare from the flame brain to their client. Apparently, Mr. Son-of-a-wealthy-business-man was a huge flirt as he was already 'taking his chances' on his teammate right now. Lucy, on the other hand, had no qualms about the huge ass flirt and was flirting back. Gray let his eyes fall on the obviously depressed individual sulking beside Lucy. The male teen stifled a laugh as Natsu looked like a lost child, deprived of everything fiery good.

He was bored so he decided that he needed entertainment.

"Hey, Natsu." Gray called. He jerked his head to the side telling him to sit by his side. Natsu grumbled a few insults and swayed to the seat by the window. The ice mage smirked; he might as well take advantage of his depression. "Are you that weak?" He teased, "The train's not even moving yet you look like you're ready to die." The fire mage lifted his head from the window sill and glared at him.

"The hell is wrong with you? You want to fight?"

Gray eyes were gleaming. "Oh no. I think you're already struggling in a battle right now." He wiggled his eyes. Natsu immediately picked up his friend's message and dropped his head backwards on his seat.

"Shut it, ice butt." Natsu said to him. He draped his arm over his eyes and sighed. "Why do you care?"

"I don't." Gray answered instantly. "I just find your agony quite amusing." Gray laughed, ignoring the painful feeling on his back that Natsu just hit. The ice mage swatted the hand away and looked at him.

Damn, this fire skull seriously needed a push.

"Natsu," he started, "Imagine the girl of your dreams –your mate, in another man's arms." Gray subtly pointed to Lucy's direction subsequently nudging the boy in his ribs. "What would you feel?"

Natsu shot him a pointed look and snapped, "Since when did you become a love guru?"

"Since I got a girlfriend." he answered.

The fire mage rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. And how long has it taken you to realize that Juvia's been fawning over you since ever?" Gray opened his mouth to answer but decided not to since his love life wasn't the issue here. It was Natsu's. And damn him for almost answering something private. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and secretly pinched Natsu by the arms. Natsu yelped and rubbed the reddened part, glaring at Gray for being childish.

"What the hell, you damn exhibitionist." he cursed. Gray decided to let the small insult slide. He'll just have to punch him later. Natsu was an idiot, and like any other idiots, he needed serious help. And Gray took on the liberty on helping him. Besides, the client's flirting voice was drilling into his ears now. He winced as their client dropped a pick-up line on Lucy. That evil human must be stopped.

"What? Are you just gonna sit there like you lost a battle for the rest of the trip or are you gonna shut that bastard's trap?" He pointed to the flirting teen. Natsu followed Gray's finger and frowned. He shook his head.

"Oh, believe me, I want to. But Lucy's gonna kill me." Natsu's eyed were wide in fear. He remembered the last time he interrupted her date. It did NOT go well. Let's just say that Lucy ignored his whole being for the rest of the week, leaving him to go solo during that time.

"Yeah, well, can you stand this?" Natsu shook his head again.

"Good." Gray gave him an approving nod. "If I –someone who holds no romantic feelings to Lucy whatsoever, am bothered and downright disgusted with this scene, what more can you?"

Natsu inwardly admitted to himself that Gray had handed him his own ass this time. He sighed and massaged his nose bridge. Gray watched Natsu calm down and quietly laughed, he needed popcorn for this show. The moment Natsu opened his eyes, he had this weird fire glowing in his eyes and disappeared as he blinked.

"You fired up?" He asked. Natsu scoffed and looked at him with a more determined face, "Hell yeah, I am." Natsu stood up and sickly swayed back next to Lucy. Gray watched in amusement as the fire mage dropped next to Lucy and 'weakly' flung his upper half on her lap, surprising the flirting man.

"Excuse me–" the client said, "But, what are you doing?" The man poked Natsu's hair and frowned, "Are you sick?"

Natsu raised his head and complained. "Luce … I can't go on like this." Natsu let his head fall on her lap and groaned. "I think I'm gonna be sick." Lucy laughed and stroked his hair. The stellar mage held her free hand up just before their client got the chance to talk.

"He's a bit weak when it comes to transportation." she explained. "It makes him sick and useless." Lucy laughed when she felt Natsu growl.

"I'm not weak," he said "I just have motion sickness."

"You're just sugarcoating it, Natsu. You're weak in vehicles. Period."

"Uhh—" the client coughed to call her attention. Lucy turned her head to look at him. "Yes?"

"As I was saying—"

"Hold that thought." she interrupted him. Lucy pulled Natsu by his collar and set him on her side. "My feet fell asleep, Natsu. You're too heavy." she smiled as she patted her legs to feel them. The man looked from Lucy to Natsu and back to Lucy in a confused manner.

Was he missing something here? The man looked at Natsu and cringed as he caught the guy smirking at him. He quickly turned to Lucy to talk to her.

"Hey Lucy…" the girl raised her head to look at him. "I was just wondering if you have a boy—"

"Luce—" Natsu interrupted as he fell on her lap again.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Yes," the client agreed. "Exactly what are you doing Mr. Dragneel?" the man was near his boiling point right now.

Natsu quickly glared at the man before partially acting weak again in front of Lucy. "I'm gonna dieeeee."

"If you feel sick, why did you come here?" he snapped.

"Now, now Damian," Lucy calmed him down, "He may be _useless_ in vehicles but I assure you, he is completely dependable on missions." She looked down on Natsu and pulled his cheek. "Now, what is wrong with you?"

"The train just moved."

Lucy sighed as she stroked his hair again. "Fine." Lucy pushed Natsu gently away and stretched her legs out. She patted them and let him use it as a pillow. The fire mage grinned at her and fell down on her lap.

"Better?" he nodded.

Their client was once again at a loss for words. Last time he checked, Lucy was 100% single. What happened? He looked at the guy with the pink hair and swore that that curve on his mouth looked just like a victorious smirk.

**. . .**

Gray inwardly laughed as he saw the flirting ass man quiet down and feel left out.

_Yes, shut your goddamn vocal cords man. _

He crossed his arms and laid his back on the soft cushioned seat of the train, letting himself get comfortable as he watched Natsu hand that man's ass to him.

.

.

.

He was going to need that popcorn.

* * *

Review please! :D


	8. 035: Prince

035: Prince

**Demented Reality**

It was foolish of her to hope for something so farfetched. She knew that no one would come and save her; she was no princess to be treated as such. She was a mage in a castle-like mansion, not a princess in a castle tower. There were no such things as princes in her life.

But –a girl can still hope right? Even at sixteen, she was still a young girl at heart.

Lucy once believed that if a girl waited long enough, her prince would eventually come and sweep her off her feet and ride into the sunset. They would live happily ever after and have lots of fun together. But that never happened. Instead, the queen died and the princess was forced to live under the strict and forbidding rule of the king. She was not to laugh, to smile, to have fun … she was expected to excel and bear a son.

Lucy immediately realized that she needed to take on the matters into her own hands. She needed to escape, she needed to be free. But with freedom came huge responsibilities. The former heiress forced herself to work to earn jewels for herself. She even went as low as to flaunt her assets just so she could get discounts for the things she bought. Not that she didn't mind, her body was worth flaunting. She lived with this kind of lifestyle for the past year, and even then her prince didn't show up.

She waited, and waited but he never came.

That's when she stopped believing.

Even so, Lucy would still romanticize about her love life –it was only natural. She wanted to have that sense of security from her ideal man –not a prince– her ideal man. Because she recently realized that there was no guy out there that would put another person before himself. The men that she wanted were limited and they were either dead, taken, or gay. The rest were either narcissist, snobby, full of pride or downright disgusting.

That was the reason why Lucy decided to join a guild, specifically Fairy Tail. The men there had the possibility of being perverts, but they were undoubtedly strong.

And that was the reason why Lucy wanted to pummel 'Salamander' for tricking her with his charm magic.

Lucy wanted to kill herself then and there for falling for such immature tricks. Good thing a good soul came and snapped her out of the spell. Once she was out of the crowd, Lucy thanked the man that saved her. And since her mother told her to be grateful when someone helped her, she treated the young man to lunch.

Thank you. You're so kind. Lucy didn't even bother hiding her feelings and openly smiled at the stranger eating in front of her as she told them about the guild she wanted to join in. There were food flying everywhere, but Lucy decided to keep quiet and let them eat. The man was obviously hungry. As he ate, Lucy took the time in examining his features. His spiky rose colored hair was hard not to notice and his eyes were as deep as onyx. Lucy's eyes landed on the unique piece of clothing on his neck, a scarf? What a weird piece to wear when he's top was open. Even so, it looked good.

Lucy noticed the time and figured that she needed to go. She told them goodbye and left after the boy and his cat thanked her.

Who knew that a guy like him still existed in this world?

The boy, whose name she later found out was Natsu, may not perfectly fit her criteria as he was obviously stupid, but Lucy found him adorable and amusing. Her view on him also rocketed when he saved her from the ship, albeit being useless onboard because of his motion sickness. He had saved her, a stranger, twice without asking something in return.

And what did she do? She sat there on the ship and acted like a weak little princess that needed saving. She even dropped her keys in the water for goodness sake! Even so, she fought alongside Natsu, offering him help as she called Aquarius to wash away the bad guys despite getting washed away in the process.

Lucy stared wide-eyed at the large scale destruction before her. She has never made this kind of mess in her whole life. Natsu destroyed at least everything around them, even knocking out every member of the ship. She wasn't any better. The ship that Aquarius attacked was washed to the shore, damaging the houses and shops that stood there. She was scared out of her wits. She, Lucy Heartphilia, had just committed a crime.

Please, someone save her.

Lucy's prayers were immediately answered as she felt Natsu grab her hands and started running, dragging her along. He offered her to join his guild, Fairy Tail. Lucy smiled and held his hands tighter, happy now that she managed to join the guild she wanted ever since.

Lucy may not be a princess, but this was her story.

And as the main character, Lucy didn't realize that she had already been swept off her feet by the dragon as they ran under the moonlit sky.

After all, she wasn't a princess to have _the_ perfect ending.

* * *

Review please! :D

**A/N: **People, I'm sorry to say this, but I'll be taking a huge break for a while. My finals are coming and I need to study. My major is killing me and I don't want to be booted out from the program. xD


	9. 014: Fate

A/N: Ahh! It's been a long time my friends. I finally finished my finals and yehey, I got the grade I wanted.

So as a price for myself (and for you people for waiting), I made this one. I just hope you like it, my writing seem to have deteriorated. =_=

Anyway, review okay? :"D

* * *

014 - Fate

**Sometimes**

There comes a time in a person's life where blessings come in the most unexpected ways. For example, to a certain mage like Natsu Dragneel, during the course of time he set out to look for his foster father, he didn't realize that the woman he found and brought to Fairy Tail would be the exact woman that would give meaning to his life.

Sometimes, it would come to fate that would push two people to fall in love.

And sometimes, things start out in the simplest of things such as agreement.

"Lucy"

"Natsu"

"Lucyy"

"Natsuu"

"Lucyyyyyyy"

"Natsuuuuuuuuuu"

"Luu—"

"Can someone please kill these two!" Gray yelled in frustration, "If you can't see, there's a good looking man trying to sleep here. So give me some respect." Apparently, the two were creating too much noise that they woke Gray up from his sleep.

"Respect?" Natsu's head turned to him, "For what? The dead?" he jokingly asked.

"Don't fuck with me."

Natsu made a repulsive face and gagged, "Why would I? And really, who do you think you are to think you're handsome?"

Lucy grabbed her partner's shoulder and gave him a little pat. She laughed, "C'mon now Natsu, play nice. It's only once in a while that Gray dreams."

"Daydreams." Lucy couldn't help it, she raised her right hand and high-fived Natsu in the air.

"Wait," Lucy said in a rather dramatic fashion, "How will he daydream when he's eyes are always drooped?" She looked at Natsu and saw his eyes widen in realization.

"You're right," the boy stopped and went to thinking position. "Wait, I got it." Natsu's mouthed formed an 'O' and snapped his hands. "No wonder he's so cold to people, he rarely gets his sleep." The two laughed at each other's insults to Gray, not noticing the vein that suddenly popped out of his forehead.

"I said shut the fuck up!" Natsu's eyes grew wide in alarm as he saw a chair flying towards their direction. It was thanks to his reflexes that he managed to punch the chair in half before it hit them.

"Hey!" Natsu quickly glanced towards Lucy and checked if she was okay. Lucy saw him look at her and nodded okay. "I'm fine." After being assured that she was in good condition and wasn't hurt in any way possible, Natsu turned his attention to Gray and yelled at him.

"The hell ice butt? If you're going to throw a chair at somebody, throw it to me. Don't involve anyone else." Gray noted that small tinge of worry in the flame brain's voice. He also took note of Natsu's stance as of the moment; he had his arms spread beside him, acting as a shield that stood between Lucy and the now broken chair.

Gray couldn't help but laugh. Natsu was too easy to read.

"No way!" he laughed, "I don't mind if I hit Lucy as long as I get to see you like that every time. Man, pay a little attention to how you act will ya, you're too damn obvious."

Lucy's face burned into a bright shade of red while Natsu had his brows furrowed in confusion. "Huh?"

Gray resisted the urge to facepalm at his nakama's idiocy.

"Gray," Erza called from somewhere, "Leave them be. Can't you see you're embarrassing them?"

"Fine, fine." he reluctantly obeyed, "I want to live so I'll listen to you for now." Before he left, Gray turned to Natsu and looked him in the eyes, "Know it already you numbskull, if I found out, find it out too. It'll be hard, I swear." After saying that to Natsu, Gray turned his attention to Lucy formed a peace sign.

"Peace."

If there was one word that the guild would give to describe Gray during that moment, 'catalyst' was probably the most accurate description for him. Because after that, the two never came back to what they once were.

Because sometimes, people just need a push for them to act.

* * *

There will come a time when an individual (which is a dragon slayer in our case) is finally aware of his feelings, he would probably spend his time away from the opposite gender for a while. Why? Because it'd difficult to be yourself when you're around the one you like, especially if you're naturally a loud and mischievous person. That's why it took Natsu a full two weeks of eternal alone time, void of anything blonde and stellar, before he managed to speak to Lucy again. It was surprising for once, to see Natsu act all behaved and proper. And that's what immediately gave him away to Lucy that maybe something was wrong.

"Natsu?"

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're not even looking at me."

Needless to say, it took him another two weeks to think before he was finally able to act normal around Lucy again.

Let's leave Natsu for a moment and look at the scene in the perspective of the other party –Lucy.

For a woman who is in love with a man and knows that his love for her is in the process, Lucy was undeniably nervous. This wasn't the kind of nervousness that one would get when you're not ready, but if so, it could be because she didn't know when Natsu would finally tell her about how he felt. Who knows what goes into his mind.

When Natsu started avoiding her, a small light of hope flickered inside her. It was near. After two weeks, he came to her and started a conversation. But alas, like most expectation, it ended in disappointment. They did talk, but Natsu ended up avoiding her again.

After two more weeks, he returned, but this time he held no awkwardness towards her unlike before. It was as if nothing happened.

* * *

Sometimes, a man is better at hiding secrets than a woman, especially if they're in the middle of finding out what they felt for them. Why? Because after epiphany hit Natsu in the face that he may be harboring special feelings for Lucy, he started thinking that their friendship was now in a crucial position and he didn't want that. Yes, it did cross his mind one time that he would've preferred it better if he and Lucy would just cross the line from friendship to romance. But what if it was only him that desired this? And it was because of that thought that pushed him to set aside any feeling he had for the moment and just be him.

"Luce," the girl jumped in surprise at her new nickname, she turned around and saw him smile at her.

"What's up?" she asked, happy that he was talking to her again.

"I got us a mission," he showed her the paper in his hand, "It's just a simple escort mission but the pay is pretty good. It could cover for about five months of rent." He wasn't able to say anything else as Lucy jumped from her chair and hugged him. Maybe it was the happiness of having five months rent money that Lucy didn't notice Natsu turned a bit red under her touch.

"Wait here, okay?" she told him, "I'll just get some of my stuff then we could go." When she turned around to go home, Natsu didn't notice the confused look his teammate had on her face as she left the guild

If he did, then they probably wouldn't be stuck in this long process called let's-wait-for-each-other-to-make-the-first-move.

A year maybe? A year and a half? He forgot. It was actually amusing though, whenever he looked back to how they acted. To sum it up, they looked like they were playing a real life version of catch me if you can, except that in their case, they were only running around in circles.

Finally, one day came and Natsu finally came up with the answer.

* * *

During the course of time when you're assessing yourself on how much you love her, you would get idiotic and hurt yourself in the process. But to a certain teenage boy named Natsu Dragneel, my god, he really got hurt. Not because of the love but because he was a natural idiot.

"How idiotic can you get, Natsu?" Lucy scolded as she tended his wounds. "I can take care of myself too, you know." she added.

"Ouch," Natsu winced in pain as he pulled his arm away from her, "that hurts."

"What can I do?" she took his arm again, ignoring the pained protest he was giving her, and continued to fix his wounds. "If you don't want to get hurt, then don't come jumping in front of me every time someone comes to attack."

Natsu sighed and laid his back against the grass, this time ignoring Lucy's frustrated instruction for him not to move.

"Natsu! What the hell? Do you want to get better or not?!" Lucy threw the bandages she was holding to the ground and pouted, "Because I do. I don't know about you."

Natsu glanced at her and inwardly smiled. He didn't know what came over him to do that. Was it wrong? Who wouldn't smile when the one you like was pouting and complaining about you with her arms crossed across her chest and … who wouldn't? Then that would mean they weren't normal. And if this is how we were to base a person's normality, then Natsu would probably be more than a hundred percent normal since he was smiling like an idiot inside.

Ah, youth.

At this moment, Natsu had already realized his feelings for Lucy. It wasn't just a simple crush that meant he admired her. This was that kind of crush that made him think of her almost every second of the day. It wasn't the kind of crush that made him think of all her epic acts, but the kind of crush that made him think of how beautiful her eyes sparkled against the light, how her hair sways with the wind, how bright everything is when she's around. When she's –the list is too long.

Scratch that, he didn't like her -he loved her. Correction, Natsu loves her.

Lucy stopped with her sermon when she noticed that Natsu wasn't listening to her. She found him staring at her with a dreamful expression on his face.

"Natsu?" said man was snapped out of his reverie when she mentioned his name. "Are you okay?"

The rose-haired boy shook his head and blinked at her, "Yeah, why?"

"You've been staring at me for quite a while now."

"Ah, is that so?"

"Uh, yeah."

Natsu sat up straight and moved next to Lucy. "If so, then can I just stare at you until I recover? I think I'll recover faster if I do that."

Lucy's eye twitched. "The hell, Natsu?" Don't pull those pick-up lines on me, I'm still fixing you."

"Can you fix my heart instead?" Lucy swore she saw a glint of amusement in his eyes. She sighed.

"One more Natsu and I'll leave you here." she warned.

"Can you make it two, so that it can be the two of us?"

"Are you sick?" she raised her hand to his forehead and checked his temperature, she frowned when his temperature felt the same.

"Is Love Sick considered a sickness?"

Lucy sighed for the last time. Well at least it confirmed her that Natsu did have some feelings for her. He was back to making those cheesy and corny comments.

"Can you just shut up?"

"Try me."

Let's just say she did. It's just like that when a guy's in love with you. A simple kiss would be enough to shut him up, and that's speaking a lot if that man is Natsu Dragneel. He was just trying to get her attention anyway.

Sometimes, it's easier for two friends to be lovers instead of being strangers to lovers because as friends, you already know a lot about each other. You are you when you're with the one you really love. All secrets are told, all ill-feelings are said, and all happy moments are shared. To Natsu and Lucy, two people from opposite worlds, it was a miracle that brought them together. And luckily, Natsu was one of the many blessed that realized that it was Lucy that made his life colorful than what it already was.

Let's admit it. It not only sometimes that friends ended up as lovers.


	10. 032: Cake

Gah! The fluffies attacked me ... X_X

* * *

032: Cake

**Bear Hug**

Erza watched Lucy choke on the mocha cake she was eating. The elder mage would have liked to believe that it was because of the grotesque story she was telling her that made her choke –if only the salmon haired male wasn't in line with Lucy's field of vision. She wasn't an idiot of course; she could tell when her female teammate started to fall for Natsu. She smirked.

It was inevitable.

Erza thought that this maybe the best source of entertainment yet. And she will enjoy it.

* * *

Natsu was in the process of flinging the bar stool to Gray when he heard Lucy choke. He quickly turned his head to her direction and saw her face a turn bit blue. Lucy had both of her hands around her neck while Erza patted her back. Natsu narrowed his eyes only to widen again. Erza wasn't patting her, she was hitting her.

"Erza!" Natsu yelled as he ran to their direction, "You're going to _kill_ her like that!" the fire mage was next to his partner in no time and was now patting her back. He glared at Erza. Erza glared back.

"I was helping her."

"You were punching her back with your palms." Erza let her gaze fall down to Lucy who was still choking. She then raised her head to see Happy flying to their direction with a glass of water in hand. Lucy gratefully took the cup from Happy's paws and drank it dry.

"Ah," she let out a refreshed breath, "That felt good."

Natsu looked at her to make sure. Seeing as she wasn't a bit blue anymore, he stopped rubbing her back and retracted his hands. "Are you okay?" the boy teen asked.

Lucy placed her hand to cover her mouth and coughed. She blinked and coughed again. The spirit mage took her hand off and shook her head. "Nope" she pointed to somewhere in her chest. "There's this awkward feeling in my throat or something. I dunno, I just feel weird."

Natsu looked at her for a minute and grinned.

"Let's do a Heimlich!" Natsu suggested. He held his arms out and gave them a small twitch, telling Lucy to come.

"Oh no" She refused. "Natsu–" Lucy's face turned into a deep shade of red when she felt Natsu's arms snake around her small waist, his biceps hitting her shoulders. Lucy gripped the boy's arms reflexively and flailed around. The nerve of that guy! She didn't even say anything. She almost had a coronary when Natsu tightened his grip on her waist, closing any gap between her back and his chest.

Sighing, Lucy gave up and closed her eyes, hoping that the food now stuck in her throat would now go down. Instead she just quietly enjoyed that fact that Natsu had his arms around her. Lucy suppressed a smile as she felt Natsu's breath tickle her neck. Her fingers twitched on Natsu's arms. Not that she just noticed it now but, Natsu really has a toned body. Her eyes lingered over his tan skin for a moment, taking in the image of his tan and scarred hands.

"Natsu?" she opened her eyes.

"What?"

"You haven't done anything yet."

"You didn't tell me to start."

Lucy couldn't feel more embarrassed right now. Natsu just gave her a bear hug, and a pretty tight one at that. She could tell that a certain red haired was enjoying this. And not just her, somewhere, some ice butt was laughing his frozen ass off.

Lucy squeezed Natsu's arm. "Just do it." she sighed.

Natsu was about to do a Heimlich when Happy flew by. The blue cat teasingly looked at him and rolled his tongue. "You liiiiiiiiiiike her." Natsu scoffed the tease away.

"She's dying."

Lucy pinched Natsu's skin. "I am _not_ dying."

"You were blue a while ago."

"I'm fine now."

"But you said something was awkward."

"I'm fine now."

"But—"

"Natsu!" Lucy tore his grip on her and stumbled away. She turned around to face him and placed her hands on her waist. "I'm fine now." she repeated once more.

Natsu shrugged, "If you say so." Natsu crossed his arms above his head and walked away. Since he had his back facing Lucy, the stellar mage didn't see the idiotic grin her partner was wearing. But even as he walked away, Natsu was sure what was going on her mind right now.

He just hugged her.

Of course he has a reason to smile.


	11. 017: Snow

017: Snow

**Personal Heater 2**

The image lacrima beeped loudly on the side table, waking up Natsu. He stirred awake and felt for the object and clicked it, waiting for the other person to speak.

"Natsu?" The fire mage was wide awake the moment he heard her voice. Natsu sat up and watched her image solidify in the orb. It was Lucy.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come here?" she asked. He was up in no time when heard her sneeze and cough. He didn't waste any time asking her what was wrong as he was already out of his house and was on his way to her apartment. Listening to her like a sick person was enough to tell him that she needed him by her side. Natsu yelled at Happy to watch the house and went out just like that, no extra coat, no earmuffs, no gloves, just his regular one-sleeved top and muffler.

The young man had no trouble walking through the snowy city, he was a _fire _dragon slayer –he'll just have to burn the snow away just like last time.

**. . .**

Lucy was cold –again. Her teeth chattered mercilessly and her body shivered like a blender with no cover. This season was bad enough since she wasn't able to go on missions as much as before but also because the cold was colder due to the falling snow. She felt like she was frozen and locked away in a freezer. Lucy pulled out a tissue when she felt her nose itch, she sneezed. Damn the cold.

This time, she hated the snow.

No, not Gray –just his element.

Her time with Holorogium already reached its limit. The coldness hit her hard when the damn clock just disappeared after saying sorry. She was back to blankets and comforters after that. That's when she remembered that stormy night that she had a heater. Duh.

She willed herself to walk out of bed. It was hard work, the cold was pressing against her skin and her winter attire composed of comforters, gloves, mufflers and earmuffs did little in providing her warmth. But it would have to do. She pulled the small orb out from her cabinet and set it on the middle of her table. She concentrated her power on the ball and after a few seconds, it shimmered to black. Lucy smiled in triumph, she got connected, but apparently her knight in dragon scales was asleep since his light was turned off. After a moment of waiting, Natsu shimmered into view, his eyes squinted and his mouth turned, the boy obviously just woke up.

"Natsu?" she tried to speak without biting her tongue off.

"Can you come here?" she asked. Her nose began to itch, but it was too late to grab the tissue as she had already sneezed. When she looked back into the orb, Natsu was already outside and closer to the orb was Happy, telling her that he'd come soon before shutting the lacrima off.

She was happy with that news. That meant the horror known as Gray's element would soon be over.

Lucy sat back on her bed and looked outside the window. If before, it was a water wonderland, now it was a winter wonderland. Everywhere you look, it was white: the roof, the pavement, the windows, even the river. It was frozen over that snow began to collect on top of it. The view was great, the vast whiteness of the city made it look like a setting in a story book, but the feeling … not so much.

Lucy thanked the celestial gods when she heard a knock on her window. Holy Edolas, she was saved. She turned to open it but frowned when she remembered that it was snowing. She loved Natsu and all but during times like this, it's better to become a normal person and enter the door. She didn't want any snow, especially the winds, to enter her house. It's like suicide-by-coldness.

The stellar mage pounded loudly on her newly installed window (since the last one was broken into tiny little pieces when the storm threw a tree branch at her house) and yelled at the figure outside to come in using the door. It quickly obliged since it disappeared at once.

A few seconds passed and Lucy heard a knock on her door. Finally, her heater and the most important person in her life was back. But now, seeing as she was nearing hypothermia, Lucy missed the heater in him more.

She skipped to her door and gladly opened it for the visitor.

"Natsu!" she beamed, "Thank Mavis, you're here. I'm freezing to death." she noticed that the dragon slayer was dripping wet so she set off to her laundry to grab some towels for him to dry with. When she returned she saw him sitting on her bed and not a single thread in his clothes was wet.

"I forgot, you're hot." she rolled her eyes and dropped the towels on the nearby chair.

"Is that supposed to be literal?" He asked, "Because I'd like the other meaning for that." he flashed her his trademark lopsided smile. Something about that smile warmed her, it was like the temperature rose a few degrees.

Okay, it was now three degrees Celsius.

Nope. Not enough.

After taking off a huge amount of clothes, Lucy walked over to her bed and pushed Natsu aside. "Good, now that you're here, make use of yourself and hug me." She half-joked as she fell on her bed on her stomach. She patted the other side of the bed for him to sleep on.

"You really made a big deal about my fire, huh?" Natsu told her as he fixed himself nest to her. He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.

"Well, duh. You're pretty useful when it comes to the cold." she let her arms rest on his neck and pulled him closer, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. "I don't need to wear much when you're there." She smiled.

"Well, next time, try not to wear anything at all."

The snap on her forehead was pretty audible. Lucy's eye twitched and forcefully pushed the boy off her bed.

"Not even for a joke." she glared as she poked her finger to his chest. Natsu gulped and nodded viciously enough to tear his head off.

"Good. Come back in, and don't try anything that'll make me punch you out of my house." Lucy raised her comforter as Natsu climbed back in, wincing a bit as he lay down. His back hurt from that fall. Damn, she did a good job hurting him. Can't she take a half-hearted joke?

He looked at her. Yes, half. He wouldn't mind not seeing her wear anything. I mean, he had the rights for it.

"Stop it." she warned. Natsu felt his cheeks grow warm. He pulled the comforter over his head and turned his back away from her. That was embarrassing, how could she read him like that?

"Well, it's just that you're so obvious." Lucy said it so casually that Natsu asked himself if she could read minds.

"I don't." she answered.

Natsu pulled the comforter away from his head as he sat up. "Now that's a bit freaky Luce. If you don't … then why—"

"You're just so easy to read Natsu," she interrupted, "you totally give away your actions." Lucy was examining her nails. She glanced at Natsu and then back to her beautifully manicured nails.

"I'm no Cobra."

"That's _really_ freaky you know." he told her. She shrugged. "I'm just that good?"

"Very well then," he sounded like he was about the make a challenge. Lucy saw it coming.

"Challenge accepted." she watched with a raised eyebrow as Natsu jerk in surprise.

"Weirdo." she heard him mutter. It was cute, in a Natsu-kind-of-way, when he acted like that. Lucy laughed and dropped to her bed, pulling Natsu alongside of her, so that they'd fall side by side.

Lucy raised Natsu's arm and tucked her head under his chin. She hummed in sheer delight as she felt the heat instantly reach her. She sighed.

"You really are warm." she said as if it was a groundbreaking discovery. Lucy's head rose and fell as Natsu laughed.

"I'm starting to realize my purpose in this relationship." he joked. Lucy could only hum in response. She hugged him by his neck and pulled his face closer to hers. She inhaled that sweet scent of summer that radiated from him. Really, Natsu was summer all throughout. He had every right to be a fire dragon slayer.

A few minutes passed and Natsu was sound asleep. It was a mystery actually, how he would fall asleep so fast. It was like he was sleeping for two people.

The snow looked like falling Styrofoam now, small white beads that looked like snow except that it didn't hold any properties that would make her die out of frostbite. The room was warm, much more than Natsu first came in.

Thirty-five degrees.

Again, it was just like a normal night, them in bed, his arms around her waist, her arms around his neck and her head tucked perfectly under his chin.

Lucy couldn't wish for a more perfect night.


	12. 044: Fall

**Catch Me**

It was probably during their mission at Mt. Hakobe that Lucy realized how physically lacking she was. That thought had always been lingering on the back of her mind but it was only now, as she fell down the chasm of pointed rocks, that she accepted the fact that maybe she really wasn't cut out for the physical side of their missions.

"Natsu!" she yelled, hoping that her partner would come on time.

"Lucy!" I strong grip grabbed her hand and Lucy found herself slowing down. Natsu stopped just in time, the stellar mage could feel the rocks pricking her foot. It was a close call.

Given the fact that Lucy was _really _weak compared to Natsu, she was also injured from her fall which made Natsu carry her back to their camp on his back. A girl like her could think of a lot of things during that small period of time that she was being carried. For example, how many times had Natsu saved her every time she was in trouble? Most of these moments were when she fell down a high place and that he would always be the one to catch her.

So when it was finally dinner and the three of them huddled around the fire, Lucy decided that it was better to ask him now than not to ask him at all.

"Natsu…" she started. Natsu stopped and looked up from his meal. Since the fire mage hasn't gone back to eating, Lucy asked him, "Why do you do this?"

Natsu cocked his head to the left and furrowed his brows, "Huh? Again? What?"

The stellar mage tried her best not to facepalm, "I mean, aren't you getting tired?"

"Of what?"

"Of saving me."

Natsu realized by now that Lucy was feeling a bit sad that he had to save her again. But what could he do? If he let her fall on her own, there was a huge possibility that he might come home with a dead body and later, a dead him.

"Why are you bringing this up now?" Natsu placed down the fish he and Happy caught earlier and ignored the cat that just took a bite from it, "You never talked to me about this."

"Maybe because … I just didn't want to hurt you."

"You're weird Lucy." was all he could say. Natsu felt the serious atmosphere from Lucy, she was really feeling miserable. But even as he tried to lessen the heavy mood by joking around, his partner seemed to counter it with every sigh she sighs.

"There was that time during the clock thingy too…. when I fell." she said, more like speaking to herself.

"I caught you."

"Do you ever get tired with it?" she asked him.

"Tired with what?"

"Catching me." she answered.

"I don't, why would I?" Natsu could feel the clichéd lines coming next, but he just kept quiet and let Lucy voice out her misery about being saved all the time.

"You don't need to act all hero on me every time." There it was. _The line. _This time, it was Natsu's turn to sigh and told her:

"You act all hero on me too. Remember the time when almost fell down the waterfall after you fought Angel? You grabbed me." Lucy was about to argue back but Natsu spoke again, giving her no time to argue at all. "You grabbed my hand when I was about to fall during our fight with Hades."

"Those were different," she shook her head. Lucy wanted to make a point here but she couldn't, especially when Natsu's arguments were as good as hers. "I can take care of myself Natsu."

"Then I can take care of myself too," Natsu crossed her arms across his chest and huffed in a rather childish way.

"Natsu!" she snapped, "Stop being a child!"

"I'm not!" he said, "You're the one acting like a child here. So you expect me to just watch you as you fall into your impending doom?"

"You can't expect me to need your help every time I'm in a fight." Lucy angrily stood up and glared at him. Natsu wasn't near mad but he found it fitting to stand up as well so that he could talk to her face to face and not with her looking down on him.

"I can and I will."

"I can't fall in a fight!"

"You're being too literal Luce. Remember your fight with Flare?" he ignored the subtle twitch to Lucy's eyes and continued, "You lost, you fell … same banana, 2+2=4. You were crying. I was there and I helped you stand up. Wasn't that the same?!"

"No." Lucy said, adding a bit force in her words to shut him up.

"The first time I caught you was when you fell down Jose's tower. You called me, I was there."

"That was different, I was in danger. Of course I'll call for you."

"Then why call me?" He asked her. It was a simple question but Lucy found it hard to answer.

"I—"

"You fell Luce, obviously I'll catch you." Lucy was caught by surprise when she heard Natsu say this. There was something about those words that reminded her that she was safe with him. True enough, there were times that she relied on Natsu too much. He would be there to save her and vice versa even if he rarely needed help from her. But she knew that he wouldn't always be there for her.

"But what if, theoretically speaking, you're not there?"

"There's no way I won't be there when you fall." It was very obvious that by this point, they weren't talking about Lucy falling literally. Natsu leaned in closer to her and looked at her in the eye. Maybe if it weren't for the serious atmosphere, Lucy probably would have pushed the man away and yelled at him. But there was this enchanting about how he looked at her that made her quiet and not do anything.

"Point is Luce," he went on, "I'll catch you when you fall."

Six words. It only took Natsu six words.

Then Lucy found herself falling again.

But this time it wasn't the life-threatening kind where she would scream out loud, it was more like a sweet kind of falling that made her heart flutter. She was falling and she thought, amongst any other thoughts she had at the moment, that maybe Natsu will be there to catch her again.

* * *

**(READ PLEASE) **

**A/N: **I feel like changing the title. Should I? If so, what should I put? Any suggestions?


	13. 020: Past

I finished this early in the morning.

I apologize in advance for the grammatical errors that you may find.

* * *

020: Past

**Dreams**

Sunlight drifted in through the pink curtains, shedding light in the once dim room and waking up the sleeping figure on the bed.

The girl turned to her left, her right leg dangling on the edge and rolled continuously until she fell on a set of blankets she prepared the night before.

"I knew it was a good idea to place them here," she hummed as she hugged the sheets to her chest.

A loud knock from her door followed by a good morning call snapped her awake before she fell asleep again. "Sweetheart!" the voice on the other side of the door said, "Wake up, we'll be leaving soon." The door opened without notice and a woman came in, stopping only a few feet before her head.

"C'mon now sweetie," she said, crouching down to look at her daughter in the eye, "We wouldn't want the others to wait for us now, don't we?" the older woman pushed herself up and offered her hand to the semi-awake person on the floor.

"Fine." the girl said, her blonde hair swaying as she turned her head to the right. She took her mother's hand and used it as a lever to pull herself up.

"Now wash up. Your father and I will be downstairs preparing breakfast."

"Yeah."

When she was left alone in the room to fix up, the girl plopped back to the bed and squeezed her eye shut. There was something in her dreams that disturbed her last night, better yet, the past weeks. They were too vivid and most of them, if not all, seemed to be connected with each other. She knew from her lessons that dreams were just a manifestation of whatever happened during your everyday life, but what she saw in her dreams were far too uncommon and were far too outrageous. And they kept coming back to the point where she was afraid to sleep.

But what disturbed her the most, amongst everything else, was that even though she felt afraid of her dreams, they somewhat felt familiar to her, as if she'd been there enough to be comfortable.

The girl shook her head and slapped her face. "C'mon now me, it's not the time to be a weirdo." she told herself.

When she finished prepping up, the girl went down the stairs to their kitchen and found her parents at the table, already eating breakfast.

"Sweetheart," her mother said, patting the chair next to her, "You look tired, did you study late last night?" she asked, her gentle voice calming the girl down.

"Oh hush now dear," a man, her father, said. "That girl doesn't need to study, have you seen her grades? Straight A's I tell you." He told her with a wave of his hand. "Must be easy being the daughter of a tycoon and a historian-slash-curator." he joked.

The mother just sent her husband a look and smiled as her daughter sat down next to her. She noticed that the small black circles around her eyes haven't disappeared since the past weeks.

"Lucie, sweetheart," she placed her hand below her chin and raised it up, forcing her daughter to look at her, "Is there something wrong? You could tell us you know?"

Lucie decided that telling them her problems might be the best idea for now. The blonde shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she tried to avoid eye contact from her parents, but common courtesy took over and she was now looking at them in the eye.

"You see …" she gulped, "I've been having dreams for quite some time…" she looked at her parents and continued when they didn't talk. "It's always the same place, but different events. Like one time, I fell down a tower then another when I was running away from something in the forest."

"Oh dear," her mother clapped her hands gleefully, a small glitter of amusement present in her brown eyes. "I've always loved a conversation that involves dreams. It's always so enchanting. Can you tell me what other things you saw in your dreams?"

"Uh, sure." the blonde said, though not sure why her mother would be so interested about her dreams/nightmares. "I always found myself living alone in an apartment, sometimes I would see myself in a huge building filled with a lot of people. Sometimes they would fight, sometimes they would drink and I …" she blushed furiously before speaking again, "there's always this boy that seems to strip."

"Are wet dreams recurring, dear?" the father asked. Lucie's mother shot him a look, "Oh shut it June." she turned to her daughter again and said, "Go on, continue."

Lucie sighed but continued nevertheless, "Those were the most normal dreams I had. But sometimes I would dream of fight scenes wherein I am fighting … and weird … I always see the same people fighting next to me. Is that normal?" she asked. Her mother had a look of concentration on her face, she suddenly snapped back when she realized that her daughter suddenly stopped speaking.

"Oh? Sorry dear, I was just thinking… can you tell me more? How long have you been dreaming these stuff?"

"Weeks."

"Okay then, tell me more."

"Sure…" Lucie placed her head in her hand and thought, "There was this time when I was fighting a girl, she was wearing white and blue all over –she looked like an angel– and I was using some stuff to use against her … no. I was using animals? That can't be, I never treated them like animals…"

Lucie's mother nodded, quietly taking in the information she was given.

"Yeah. They were spirits, I don't know what kind but I'm definitely sure they were spirits. One even looked like a lamb and a lion in formal clothes. I also dreamt of something before, I was fighting again. This time I was in a sphere of water with other females, I … I was about to get killed by one of them. She held me by the neck outside the sphere, which was floating in the air, and let me fall to the ground. There were two guys who caught me and … if I remembered right, I was in an arena. People were watching me. Mom, they were nightmares. Every time I would dream of something like this, I would wake up in cold sweat and never fall back to sleep again after that. What … what's wrong with me?"

By this time, her mother was now looking at her with a serious face. "There is only one thing I can say about them Luce." she said, "They weren't mere dreams, they were more like visions of your past life. It's the only explanation I can provide you with, given my knowledge."

"Oh!" Lucie exclaimed, not paying heed to what her mother had just said, "I can remember some of the conversation in my dreams too. There's always this guy that calls me Luce. We have the same name too, mom!"

"Must be a lover to call you with such nickname." his father joked.

"No way." Lucie formed an 'x' with her hands and shook her head, "No way in hell."

* * *

Soon after they came home, Lucie immediately said good night to her parents and headed straight to her room, already tired of what she did today. When she opened the door to her room, she wasted no time in changing her clothes and plopped down into bed, not even bothering to cover herself with the covers.

The dreams kept coming back despite her fatigue.

"_Lucy!" the fire mage dropped the bag he was holding and immediately ran to his partner's side. The blonde had her hand clutched around her stomach and the other one on a wall to support her weight. _

"_Hey, Luce…" the salmon haired man took the bag from her hands and laid them carefully on the ground next to his feet, "Don't stress yourself. Wendy said it'll be bad for you if you're like that." the worry in his voice was genuine and Lucy found the pain has subsided. A second later, a shrill scream came out her mouth as she fell down on the ground, attracting attention from the people around them. _

_Natsu shot a look of panic into the sky as he hoped that now was not the time, but fate seemed to mock him as when he turned to Lucy, he saw water trickling down her legs. The fire mage sucked in a breath. _

_Lucy was going into labor._

_And in the middle of the market of all places._

"_Luce-"_

"_What?!" she gritted through her teeth, looking at him with pure annoyance, "I'm not fine Natsu, if that's what you're going to ask. Bring me to the hospital!" Lucy grabbed the bulge on her stomach as another contraction came. Natsu was now in panic mode, running around the place screaming for help. He finally calmed down when Lucy threw him the bag of baby supplies on his head._

"_Focus" she told him. "I just realized that we won't be able to make it to the hospital, the guild's nearer." she held her arms at him, asking to carry her, "Just carry me there, she's coming out fast." Natsu noticed the slight twitch in her eyes as she tried to push herself off the ground. He could classify what she was doing as stress, in a way, so Natsu picked her up and carried her bridal style._

_When they reached the door to the guild, Lucy let out another scream of pain so it wasn't that hard to kick open the door since it was already pushed open by Gray, who, like Natsu, had a look of panic on his face._

"_Now!?" he asked the fire mage. _

"_Obviously!" Natsu snapped, "Let me in so Wendy could do it and then all's finished." The ice mage nodded and stepped aside, letting Natsu enter first before helping him carry Lucy to the ward on the second floor._

"_Wendy…" Gray said from outside the ward, "We've got Lucy. The baby's about to come. We're coming in." But before he managed to kick the door, Wendy opened the door and ushered them inside, kicking them out as soon as they had Lucy on the bed. _

"_She'll be fine," Wendy assured the two. Gray of course was worried too since Lucy would be the first one to give birth. Juvia still had six months to go. So it was only fitting for him to be panicked as well since he treated Lucy like a sister. At his side, Natsu was biting his nails as he bore holes on the door to the ward. Gray let out a small laugh. He placed his hand on Natsu's shoulder and gave it a light pat._

"_She'll be fine," he told him, "Lucy's from Fairy Tail after all." _

_It was rare for him to give Natsu, his best friend slash rival, comforting words since it wasn't in his nature to do so but the time called for it, and the fire mage needed support now than ever, especially with Lucy screaming at the other side of the door._

_Hours passed and finally, the screaming stopped followed by a loud cry. This time it wasn't from Lucy. The voice was smaller and shriller –a child's. Natsu's head snapped up once he heard it. He saw Gray smile at him from the corner of his eyes, he turned to the ice mage and smiled back. A smile worthy of a proud father. The fire mage switched his attention to the door as it opened, revealing Wendy, all sweaty and tired._

"_You can come in now." she pushed the door open and stepped aside for Natsu to enter._

_The scene was breathtaking._

_Lucy was lying on the bed at the far side of the room, next to the window. In her arms was a small bundle of pink hair and brown eyes. It was them in a single baby. Natsu ran to Lucy's side and kissed her forehead._

"_Hey, 'you alright?" he asked. It was a rhetorical question yet Natsu couldn't help but ask. Lucy was obviously floating in cloud nine, but the stress on her body was obviously no joke. She was tired, her eyes clearly showed that. But even with those facts, Lucy still managed to smile at him and say,_

"_I'm fine. I'm more than fine actually. Can you believe it Natsu? We're actually parents." the smile of Lucy's face was enough to make a man like him cry with happiness. He leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips before pulling her into a hug. It was the most magical moment of his life, much more than all of his heroic acts combined. _

_A single cry shattered the tranquil silence of the room. The baby was awake. Natsu pulled away to look at his daughter and laughed, "My pink hair. She actually got my pink hair."_

"_What do we name her?" Lucy asked, her eyes sparkling with happiness._

_Natsu placed his chin between his thumb and index finger and thought. What would be the perfect name for a perfect child like her? Will it be a mix if his name and Lucy's? Maybe._

"_Nashi." he said with a snap of his fingers._

"_Nashi?" Lucy repeated, trying out the name on her tongue. Natsu nodded at her. _

"_Yeah. The 'Na' from Natsu and 'shi' from Rushii" he explained a matter-of-factly. Lucy smiled at the name and looked at her daughter._

"_Did you hear that sweetheart?" she asked the pink haired baby in her arms, "From now on, you'll be Nashi. Nashi Dragneel."_

* * *

Lucie woke up with a start.

She shot up from bed and placed a hand on her beating heart. This was probably the most vivid dream she had yet. The details were so clear she could recite every color from the curtains to their clothes.

She dreamed of 'herself' again and this time she gave birth to a child that looked exactly like the man who called her Luce. Her mind went back to last morning when her father said that man could be her lover from her past life.

She twitched in surprise when her fingers unconsciously touched her lips. She felt like the kiss really happened, that his lips really touched hers.

_Natsu, huh?_ she thought, going back to the other dreams where she saw him with her. True enough, every time she'd dreamt of herself in danger, he would always be there to save the day.

After this, she never dreamt of any of them ever again, but there was one thing she remembered.

She was happy in her past life.

* * *

**Uh. Find any errors? Tell me if you see one. **


	14. 037: Guilt

I'm still alive, just saying. :3

Disclaimer: Once Hiro dies, I'll still Fairy Tail. It's his.

* * *

037: Guilt

**Of Skirts and Guilty Feelings**

Lucy planned on throwing out some of her stuff today. Her house had too much furniture and they would only be a burden and a hindrance to her if things kept piling one at a time. She didn't want her home to be like that of a pig's of course. Though during her work, one particular thing caught her eye that had her stop momentarily.

Chocolate hues stared blankly at the small clothing apparel that lay motionless on her bed. Just the image of it brought a bitter frown to her lips. Seconds ticked, days passed, months –yet still she couldn't find it in herself to throw it away. Probably because it served as a memento of their lives when magic still traversed the land, if not then maybe it was because of that somewhat fateful encounter she had with herself. And it was possible that those where the reasons that she didn't throw it away. But she wanted to now.

Ever since before, she'd found it odd, more so because she's seen herself in them, because it symbolized complete feminism to her. And here, in _her_ world, nothing but strength and determination could bring you to where you wish –never flamboyant and eye-catching clothes. Annoyed, she picked up the morally degrading fabric and pulled it closer to her face.

"You disgust me," she spat. Thankfully, the skirt did not reply.

How long has it been since she was taken seriously by her guild? Ever since their encounter with their counterparts, Lucy particularly, her nakamas feared her less now that they saw a side of her they once thought was rare nor impossible for them to see. True it wasn't her, but they did look the same and that was enough for the others. In that short span of time, her status as the guild's leader was brought down to a peppy happy princess. It annoyed her in a way but Lucy decided not to tread that path since she was far more amazed at the thought of a parallel world than to harbor ill-feelings for her other self. Though she hid it in front of others.

But if there was one thing that Lucy would put the blame on her counterpart, it would be that she was indirectly the reason for her and Natsu drifting apart.

Ever since the magic disappeared from their world, labor workers had been the number job in the country. And Fairy Tail, as the only guild standing left, had been the most sought people during Edolas' restoration. It was during this time that her 'leader' skills were at its peak, bossing everyone around and applying the Lucy torture whenever someone would go against her orders, Natsu included and it was also during this time that the man in question snapped at her for being the most inconsiderate nakama.

"_Could you just shut up?!" Natsu slammed down the table he was carrying to the floor, surprising everyone. Did Natsu Dragoin just tell Lucy Ashley to shut up? Did he just say that to the person he feared the most –outside his vehicle?_

_Lucy blinked at him, speechless. "What did you just say!?" she immediately bit back, "You're the one slacking off here. I've said to you many times to carry these tables outside, but when did you do it? Just now!" Lucy stepped nearer to Natsu, her new attack ready, and lunged for him. But before her arms managed to latch around his neck, his hands shot up, grabbing her and threw her away from him. Lucy just let the momentum carry her as she spun around and landed to the ground. She stood up and stared at him, ignorant to the shock and disbelief on her face. _

"_We're not being chased by the kingdom anymore so stop acting like there's still a stick stuck in your ass! I've had enough!" _

"_It's because you're such a weakling you crybaby! Now that you're magic car is gone, how do you expect to contribute to this guild!? Answer me!" Lucy's face was red, but it didn't match the color in Natsu's face. His pink hair even seemed to accentuate his red face as well._

"_I can do a lot of things! Now if you acted more like your other self then maybe I wouldn't snapping at you like this!_ Maybe_ if you acted more like her then maybe I'd still be respecting you like how a normal nakama should be! Maybe if you _were_ her then maybe I would have looked at you more differently!" he shot her one more look before walking out of the guild._

Shaking the memory out of her head, Lucy threw the skirt back to her bed and went outside, the skirt still plaguing her mind. Long walks had always been the best solution for her when she faced unsettling problems. And this –this was certainly a problem. It wasn't that his change of attitude affected her [that much], it was just that she suddenly felt guilty and guiltier because she knew this was all her fault. It had been a vice on her part to fall oblivious to her surroundings when caught in her thoughts, though she knew, and everyone knew, that no one would ever dare lay a hand on her. For Lucy Ashley was at par with Erza Knightwalker's strength when ticked off at the wrong moment. And this was a wrong moment to tick her off. Uncertainty and guilt were two things mixed that she didn't like.

She reached the residential area a few moment later, her pace now slower as she finally some air to breath. Relaxing may not have been her number one recreational activity, nor has it been her favorite thing to do, but Lucy found the feeling comfortable. Continuing for a few more minutes, she finally passed through the residential area and entered the business side of the city. Tall commercial buildings lined the street was currently passing by as stalls after stalls of a variety of products decorated the sidewalks. She was, as one would've already guessed, was in the market. And somewhere in the market in Edolas, she stopped. Why? For reasons next to be told and it caused the blonde's heart to somehow ache in a way she didn't want to. Before her, only a few meters away and oblivious to her presence, a man of her age was talking to a girl in a manner she would have believed to be too friendly –if not, flirtatious.

Pink hair bounced up and down as he laughed at what she assumed to be a joke. Pointed canines showed themselves as he talked to the girl with too much enthusiasm. Tan skin glowed under the afternoon sun as he stood outside of the stall that the girl was tending to. Had she been her previous self, she would have just shrugged the scene and gone on with her day but now, as she painfully watched his eye crinkle and lips curl into a smile, she couldn't help but turn away and leave the place as soon as possible.

But even with this, the boy failed to notice her.

The slam from her door shook the wall as Lucy made her way to her room. Her long walks would now be excluded from her to-do-list whenever she felt like this as it had brought her to where she was now. She kicked the door open, ignoring once again the violent shake it gave, and threw herself on her bed. And for once, after so many years of putting up her strong façade –she cried. Like how she thought her counterpart would have done if she faced the same situation. Hiccups came in between her sobs as she tried to hold her breath to stop, but the attempt had been in vain as another wave of tears came flowing out of her eyes. Was the hurt really this painful?

Weeks had long past since that event and now Lucy was facing the sharp end of it. The speedy driver still was himself and she on the other hand, almost everyone could see the change in her. How she now lacked power, how she became quiet, how she stopped the Lucy tortures. It was very obvious –even to strangers– that the blonde had been very much affected. It wasn't hard to notice. The pink dolt probably wouldn't know, they haven't seen each other yet.

"Moron," her lips quivered as she bit her lips. "Idiot. Stupid." The long tirade of curses continues and only stopped when she felt her feet catch something. Curious, she peered from the pillow she was clutching and saw the skirt she had just cursed a while ago.

"…" She didn't speak, only stared, but Lucy's mind was reeling with plans right now. With one last sniff, she tightly clenched her fist as a new fire of determination sparked in her eyes.

For once, she was going to do something just so she could fix the wrong she'd done. He was, after all, more important than her pride.

* * *

Hours in the guild had become longer, reasons because no one seems to be alive anymore. The casual rowdiness were still present but much less pronounced than before. There was a still quietness that most consider uncomfortable, more like a palpable awkwardness every time one of the two most controversial people are in the room. And this –one of them were here.

A man in red came in not too long ago and ordered a glass to drink from Mira. The scorching heat was unbearable during this time of the year and the guild's place right now offered no shade for him to rest in. Nothing in Edolas was. The forests were too far from the city so the only things capable of providing cool shade right now where their own houses. And they, of course, were hot as well.

"Natsu…" the driver looked up from his drink and saw Mira look at him with an expression he knew all too well would be followed be a sermon. Sweet –but still a sermon.

"Don't you think it's time you and Lucy make-up?" she asked him, her brows twitched to that of pure concern. As the barmaid, Mira knew what went on around more than anyone else. She was everyone's number one output of their troubles so the white-haired girl knew everything.

"I know you feel bad. More because she hasn't talked to you since then—"

"I know that." Natsu cut her off. The barmaid closed her mouth and let him finish. "It's just that … she's scary. She might kill me if I talk to her…"

"Do you really think she'd do that?" Mira asked, the smile on her lips curving upward more. "Have you seen Lucy the past few days? How depressed she was?"

"She doesn't know the meaning of depressed…" the pinkette murmured.

"I'm a girl Natsu," Mira waved her finger in front of him, "I know she is." Natsu was about to talk back but a sudden gasp from her stopped him from doing so. Mira had her hands covering her mouth and her eyes clearly showed her shock. Curious, the young man spun his barstool around to see what happened. Surely something huge must've happened, huge enough to render Mira speechless as she would always continue on her work despite the guild's rowdiness. What happened? An enemy entered? The royal knights came? Jellal came with Erza to finally announce their engagement? He hoped it was the last since that would finally mean that Erza would _finally_ stop her horrifying endeavors to catch them. But that would make her a queen then, and an order from a queen to capture the fairies was as absolute as the king's, if not more given who Erza was.

None of what he said was right.

Before the guild stood a woman of yellow, someone who they thought was theirs, if not for the short khaki skirt that stopped in her mid-thighs. The blue zipped turtle neck was still there, a reminder of who she was but many failed to see this as they were frozen in surprise.

"What are you morons looking at?" she asked in an annoyed tone. Gasps and screams followed soon after as the realization that it was really their Lucy hit them.

One person though, instead of being shocked, surprised the whole guild by her loud guffaws. "You –you!" Levy pointed a finger at Lucy's direction, "What the hell are you doing … princess?"

The blonde seemed unfazed at Levy's attempt to humiliate her. She had already psyched herself that no matter what the blue haired flat-chested mechanic would say to her, she wouldn't bite back. Sighing, brought one hand to her forehead and brushed the stray strands that fell right between her eyes. "I say," she murmured, "I don't even know why I did this." It was the truth, Lucy didn't really expect herself to wear the damn thing, much less walk out of her apartment with it. Oh the torture she had to endure as she passed by whistles after whistles from those lewd men. It wasn't that she hadn't gotten the same type of treatment when she was in her leotards before, in fact, her leotards even made her ass look more beautiful. But this, her legs weren't even covered! Oh god, how did her counterpart survive this? Lucy inwardly sighed, ignoring the amused laughs Levy threw at her.

_For whatever friendship I have with Natsu_, she thought. Her resolve to make up with him hasn't wavered for a bit but Lucy just had to remind herself that this was she decided to do and that no amount of mouths hung open would stop her. _Granted that there is still a friendship present_

The huge 'o' Natsu's mouth made him look like a basketball shoot. A ball would've already been thrown inside if not for the fact that this was Edolas and not Earthland. Gray Fullbuster would've already jumped at the opportunity to shoot an ice ball to that mouth if it was Salamander's and not Fireball's. But who could blame the teenage boy?

Lucy was, well, not her. And that was what shocked him, not the skirt that was too short to even be called a skirt_. _Lies. He'd be lying to himself if he said that. _It was riding up her thighs dammit_! He glanced at Mira for a moment and scrunched his eyebrows at her. Was this what she meant by depressed? Hell, if that was it then his type of depression would be bordering on suicidal. Lucy was not depressed. Just look at her. She was still the same. Her arms crossed and that air of indignant superiority still hung around her. The only thing that changed was that her pants were now gone and was replaced by a skirt that revealed her legs. _Legs_. Firm legs. Creamy soft legs. Long legs that had been hidden far too long from the male population of Edolas. Him especially.

Natsu gulped. Damn, he got her good there. His mouth still hung open even until now.

The gulp was audible. Well, it might've not been if the guild wasn't as quiet as death. Levy's earlier laughed died as soon as she opened her mouth and she had been surprised as well. (She looked like Heartphilia for all she cared.) Natsu tried to hide the sound that came out of his mouth by coughing, but that made his presence more known. Lucy shifted her attention to him and scowled.

"You—" the urge to torture him soon died though as she saw his face. Oh how long had she missed seeing that face. They've avoided each other for too long, she knew that. A quiet cough came to clear her throat.

"Let's talk" she said. It wasn't a request. She changed clothes yes, but personality? No way in hell.

"W-why?" The boy replied.

"For reasons obviously, moron."

"What reasons?"

"_The whole thing reasons." _she gritted her teeth. Was he dense or was he really dense? That thing obviously. That thing where they got pissed at each other that resulted to weeks and weeks of not seeing each other. That reason. The whole guild leaned in closer to get a clear ear of their conversation. This was something worth listening to, their privacy be damned.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Why not here?"

"Why _not_ not here." A twitch from her eyebrow got Natsu shooting up from his seat and ran outside, dragging her with him. He knew what she wanted to talk to him about, he was still too shocked at her skirt that his mind was only half listening to her. But the twitch did come and he had to talk to her, if he didn't want to get strangled again.

* * *

Once they were out of earshot from the guild, he let go of her hand and turned to her, fear somewhat displayed in his eyes (he's still afraid) yet there was also seriousness. If that was even possible.

"I—"

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't hurt me!"

"Shut up!" she whacked him on the head. A bump quickly formed on that spot she hit him. Sighing, she took back her offensive hand and rested it on her waist, the other one still hanging limply on her side. "I'm sorry." she repeated.

"I know."

"Hah, like you do."

"You're wearing a skirt for Faust's sake." he pointed. Once he her creamy legs once again, he looked up and laughed nervously. "Lucy … I forgive you—"

"Who said I was asking for your forgiveness?" she mumbled, turning her head to the side. Following the concept of parallel worlds, how expressive must her counterpart be if she was this much of a tsundere? That was a rhetorical question of course. She'd seen how Heartphilia was.

"You know… I never really meant what I said during that time. Well, maybe I did. But I don't now."

"You confuse me Natsu." Lucy crossed her arms, "That didn't make any sense."

"What I meant was that you didn't have to wear a s-skirt just to say sorry. I can take a regular Lucy apology anytime you know—" his words were halted when he felt another whack to the head.

"I didn't wear this because of that!" She fumed, "I wore this because I wanted to!"

"R-really?" Natsu looked up as he rubbed his head. "I-I just thought that m-maybe … you did it because of what I said…"

"Weirdo. I did it because that girl was wearing a skirt too." True. The girl she saw Natsu was talking to was wearing a skirt, albeit a long one. Though she knew that was the regular length for a skirt, not this. She just figured that maybe her partner had a thing for those kind of clothes and that maybe asking him to talk to her while wearing this might just do the trick. Unfortunately, skirt or no skirt, he'd talk to her. Out of fear? Maybe, maybe not, but still, that didn't change the fact that she just wore a skirt even when she didn't need to.

Her voice was soft, but her heard her. And it was because of that that Natsu laughed, his head be damned again. "Lucy –that was nothing."

"Nothing?" she asked, "What's nothing?"

"That girl," the boy wiped a tear from his eye (courtesy of his laughs) and looked at her once more. "That was seriously nothing. She just started asking me about my car and you know how I am with cars."

"Right." she rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me you wore that because of _that_?"

"I most certainly did not. I did it out of convenience."

"Convenience for?" he prodded, his lips twitching to a smile but he hid it since a smack to the head would surely come if ever he cracked those lips open. "I like your skirt by the way." he quickly added.

"It sucks." Lucy retorted, hating his likeness for it. "It rides up to my buttocks and as much as I like men drooling over them, I am more at rest when they're covered."

"Why wear them then?"

"Because."

"We're seriously not going to go over this again are we Lucy?" he whined, "I want to know~~" A sudden thought popped out of his mind and no matter how dangerous it was for him, he deemed it to be the most fitting blackmail to say.

"I'll kiss you if you don't tell me."

"Try and you die." she threatened him, her arms now uncrossed and one finger stabbing his chest.

"Gladly," with one swoop of his hands, he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to him and dipped his head to hers. It was a quick one, not even lasting for a few seconds to be even considered a kiss but given the fact that his lips had grazed hers, it was enough. And Lucy, despite being tomboyish in appearance, was still a girl inside and flushed, much to her dismay. Pulling his head away, Natsu grinned a grin that would have many mistaking him as his Earthland counterpart at that moment.

"Because?" he asked her once more. Lucy felt his stubbornness grow, akin to his persona while in his car, so ignoring that question was probably out of the well … question. "You know already and I won't waste any saliva in saying it."

"Fine," he smirked, "I just wanted to hear it from you. Also, I'd like you to keep that skirt. It makes you more alluring."

"No can do. It ride up to my ass remember?"

"Exactly."

* * *

I did an Edo one because I missed the two.

Gawd, I think my writing's gone down don't you think? =_=


	15. 024: Symbol

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail rightfully belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**024: Symbol**

**His Perspective**

_No._

The body that lay limp on the floor wasn't hers –he wanted to believe that. But the reality of the event forced him awake and never again did he let her leave his sight. He didn't want to.

But he did –to keep her safe.

* * *

Her hands had always been one of her good points.

Her once soft fingers that were now calloused brought forth by her constant battles from their missions, her soft palms that magically soothed him whenever he'd turn green in vehicles, those buffed manicured nails that she always kept beautiful despite her dangerous encounters. But most of all, the back of her palm that proudly displayed her mark as a Fairy Tail member.

A mark which was now gone.

And so was she.

Emerald eyes stared blankly into space, completely detached from reality. Had he known that this would happen, he wouldn't have agreed to participate in the Grand Magic Games. His nakama, his friend, his teammate –his _partner_, she was way more important than any petty tournaments that measured a guild's rank.

She was important period.

But why did he let this happen? He was just an arm's length away from her, one more stretch and he would have saved her. _Saved them both._ But he failed. Miserably.

A sob, soft yet very much audible, jolted him back to Earthland. Lucy was crying, crying for her, her death. He wanted to laugh so much right now at the thought of crying over your own death, but now, as he saw her fall and die before his very eyes, he couldn't even fathom at how much broken Lucy could be.

Jaden orbs landed on her figure, drinking in all her features. His motive behind it was moot since the Lucy from the future had already assured him that the Lucy from this time would live on, but he couldn't help but memorize whatever was left. Her hair, her back, her hands –hand.

_Natsu look, I got the mark of Fairy Tail on my hand._

Teeth clenched tightly, hands fisted his trousers, eyes hidden behind hid bangs –the memory resurfaced at the worst moment. The moments were almost contradicting, him remembering her first time getting the mark at the same time seeing her with no marks at all right before she died. It was like a silent warning that Lucy's time as a Fairy Tail mage has now come to an end.

He didn't want it. No.

Rogue was saying something at the distance but Natsu was too caught up in his thoughts to even notice. He wasn't in a state of absolute shock that it rendered him immobile but the sight of Lucy lying motionless before him. Someone precious to him was taken right before his eyes. Someone he'd swore to protect. Something that he'd fail on doing again if he let her stay.

He's fed up with Rogue's incessant claims that Lucy would be the one to lead Fiore to doom, that she should be killed. Hasn't her future self already made clear that she wouldn't do it? That there was no way that she would lead them all to their deaths? How can he not see that? One more word, one more word and he was sure he'd snap –and he did. All his restraints had long been gone and he was now charging at Rogue, his hand lit, and landed a punch on his face. He paid no heed to the tears that were freely flowing down his face. He had no time to stand still and mourn for the loss of someone dear to him.

He will fight for her.

* * *

She left.

And as much as he wanted to run after her and make sure that she lives, he couldn't. Because he had to defeat Rogue in order to protect her. And Loke was with her, he knew that the spirit would rather kill himself that to have a scratch on his master. But still, it didn't lessen the anxiety and grief that he has.

He needed to beat Rogue.

He needed to protect Lucy.

Of course the country's future was included in the list of things he needed to fight for, but Lucy was unquestionably on top of the list. Wiping a tear from his eyes, he locked his view on Rogue and fought. The odds of the fight were weren't at his favor as Rogue kept pulling out surprises after surprises but not once did his resolve to fight waver. He had something at stake. Something to fight for.

The strike of each attack only numbed him, despite his agonized grunts. The pain he felt was nothing compared to hers. But he was still human, and his body could only take too much. Rogue delivered another attack, something mode –his mind can't think anymore.

And he fell.

* * *

It was black.

Voices played in his head. He didn't know who they belonged but yet they sounded familiar to his ears. That was the only thing he knew at that moment; he didn't know that he was being sucked into an ominous black pool.

Where was he? He didn't know.

Where was she? Safe, he supposed. But those words never reassured him that she really was in a safe place away from any harm. They were officially at war now, he couldn't deny that. And no one in this vicinity was given the luxury of protection. He heard someone stifle a gasp, had that person seen Lucy's dead body too? He was regaining consciousness again, but that wasn't enough, he needed to move. Lying around would only waste the little time left for their world.

Somewhere inside the palace, Lucy would be fighting for Fiore. Maybe she'd even charge into that room where the Eclipse Gate was. He was sure about it. She'd stop whoever it was who would close the door; she'd do it. Lucy was a brave girl and he was a living testament to that. If she was fighting then so would he. This fueled him with the passion to fight once more, fight for the ones he loved, for the future he swore to protect. His promise to the future Lucy still lingered in his mind –engraved to the very walls of it.

It was a promise he'd die protecting.

* * *

**Note:** I have a feeling that Natsu would die in this arc [but Hiro would probably do something fucked up that would bring him back]. I'm using chapter 101 of the manga as reference. Grandine said something about Natsu dying if he continues to fight recklessly, which of course, we've seen in the recent chapters. Also, Grandine mentioned the Dragon King's Festival [which we all came to know as the GMG] so it's safe to assume that his reckless fighting will have him dead.

That and Rogue already said that killing him now wouldn't change anything in the near future since he'd also die.


End file.
